Sea-Salt Stories
by Cloudhead
Summary: They say the worlds share one sky, but they also share a special trio of friends. My AkuRokuShi short story dump. This is an AU-see my profile. Platonic AkuRokuShi, romantic RokuShi and occasional platonic AkuSai. Today's story: Spooky scary Skeletons-The sea-salt trio is probably a poor target for a Halloween prank. COLLECTION.
1. Introduction & The Other Football

**Welcome, glorious reader! Every day, I get a **_**ton **_**of AkuRokuShi ideas. It's a side-effect of being a writer, as I'm sure most of you know. :) Sometimes, I strike something that would be really good for a major story arc, like with Stupid Questions or Castle Cleanup, but most days, I just get a lot of short stories—AKA, 'drabble'. At first, I was posting them individually, but then it occurred to me that more people would read them if I just stuck them all in one, continually-updated collection. That's what this thing is. If you're looking for stories starring the trio from 358/2 Days, your search is finally over!**

**Some notes right off the bat for you newcomers. First, I like actually like Xion. *dodges tomato* Mostly the manga version! Read the manga, it did Days better in general. Anyway, if you don't like Xion, you'll probably find some stories without her, but for the most part, you'll want to add her to the 'Without' filter and try again.**

**Second, all relationships are platonic at press time, and will probably stay that way. Can I just say that, for the record, I think whoever thinks Axel and Roxas are in a romantic relationship is reading **_**way **_**too much into their friendship, or else doesn't have the word 'friend' in their vocabulary? :P That's all I'll say on the matter.**

**Third, almost all the stories here are humorous. Sitcom-like, even. The most disorganized Organization ever just lends itself to that sort of thing. If you were looking for serious, dramatic, tearful tales of sorrow, keep looking, because you won't find any here. It just isn't what I generally write. Heck, I have a grudge on the ending of Days for being so darn shoot-the-shaggy-dog, so I'm not going to emulate it.**

**Finally, all of these stories take place in my official AkuRokuShi universe, the Reluctant Father. There is a (currently) short series of fics that it builds off of. At press time, there are three major differences. First, Castle Oblivion hasn't happened yet, and Organization XIII is fully staffed. Second, due to events in Castle Cleanup, Xion is a full member of the Organization, with a Round Room seat and a title. Third, Saix is a lot less of a jerk, because I read Raberba Girl, and AkuSai is her specialty. (If you haven't read Raberba Girl, **_**you haven't read fanfiction yet, read her now**_**) You don't need to read the other fics to enjoy this, but it will probably help you understand things a little better if you do.**

**Whelp, this is dragging on way too long, so let's get started. May I recommend that you start each story by playing your preferred version of 'Dearly Beloved' in the background? :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Disney and Square Enix. I do not stand to profit from this work in any way. Creators of KH, thanks for making the most awesome RPG ever. I promise I'll be careful with your toys. :)**

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**Sea-Salt Stories**

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They say the worlds share one sky. That's true. We are one universe. What they don't tell you is that there is something else the worlds share. What is that, you may ask? Well, we share stories for one thing. That's something. But there is something else, too.

There is a trio of Nobodies. One lost his heart long ago, the other two don't remember when they had one. One is a fire-wielding assassin with a personality as hot as the flames he throws. One is a clueless boy who doesn't understand much, but is proficient at hitting things with a giant key and is getting good at being a friend. One is a beautiful, shy girl who can be gullible at times, but is kind and honest. In most situations, this would be terrible chemistry. However, they share an unbreakable bond. This might have something to do with their shared obsession with sea-salt ice cream, but it could also be something more.

These are the memories of the adventures that caused the worlds to share more than a sky. These are the stories of a group of friends trying to find their way in that little thing called life. These are the tales of a beautiful friendship, perhaps even a family.

These are the sea-salt stories.

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**The Other Football**

**Or, 'That Weird Super Bowl Special'**

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"Axel, what's the Super Bowl?"

No one knows how Roxas came across a reference to a uniquely American sports event. His mission that day had been to Disneyville, which of course was a very patriotic place at least three times a year, so maybe that was the cause.

Whatever the cause, it was a very fortuitous coincidence that Axel had been the only person in Radiant Gardens who was into the sport when he was a Somebody. Probably something to do with the fact that it mostly involves large, muscled men slamming into each other with great force. That sort of thing had appealed to Lea.

Axel looked at his friend. "Do you know what football is?"  
"Yeah, you said Xaldin is constantly using your TV to watch it."  
"The other football."  
"There's another football?"  
"That reaction brings me back…"

Axel bit off the last chunk of his ice cream and stood up. "Xi, do you like sports?"  
Xion shrugged. "I don't know. All I really know about sports is from that goat in Olympus Coliseum. And I hate that place."  
"One of these days, I'm going to take that goat's head off with my chakrams," Axel muttered under his breath. "Come on, let's RTC. Bring your ice cream. I've got something to show you."

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Junk food was not common in Organization XIII. When you have to go out and fight creatures that never waste a moment that could be spent trying to kill you in various ways _every day_, you get with the necessary diet quickly. This is called 'natural selection'. However, Demyx occasionally managed to sneak the stuff in, and so, Axel shamelessly raided his junk stash.

This was how it came to pass that the sea-salt trio was sitting in Axel's room (it had the only real television in the Organization), watching American football while stuffing their faces with chips. The Flurry of Dancing Flames had even acquired a pack of football-shaped sugar cookies, which he was saving for when someone won. Axel was sitting on the bed with a bag of plain chips, while the Keybearers sat next to each other on the floor, wrapped in a blanket (it looked just as cute as it sounds) and sharing a gigantic bag of salt-and-vinegar chips.

Axel wasn't rooting for any side in particular. He hadn't watched the sport in years, so he had no idea who was worthy of fandom. He was just in it for the muscular men hitting each other. Roxas seemed to be bouncing back and forth between the two teams, rooting mostly for whoever was winning at that moment (it was a close game). Xion had no clue what was going on, but soon decided that football was a sport she was _definitely not_ suited for. She stuck around for the junk food—again, it wasn't common, and the sight of it gave her cravings.

On the screen, an impressive tackle occurred. Roxas' eyes went wide. "That was awesome!"  
Xion jumped. "Awesome? It looked like it hurt a lot to me."  
Axel laughed. "It's official—among teenage Keybearing Nobodies, sports are more popular with boys than girls. That, my Keybearers, is called a focus group."  
Xion turned her head. "Don't people ever get injured playing this game?"  
"Yes, yes they do. It actually happens a lot. A lot of people don't even make it to professional league because they broke something important practicing for professional league."  
The girl shuddered and turned back to the screen. "I think I'll stick to poker. I'll always lose against Luxord, but at least I won't get actually hurt."

As cute as this scene was, there wasn't much of a story at this point. That makes it lucky for us that there was a knock on the door a few minutes later. Axel got up to see who it was.

It was Demyx. "Have you seen my junk food? I couldn't find it."  
Axel facepalmed. He may have neglected to inform Demyx of his raid. "We're eating it right now, while watching football. American football."  
"You're WHAT?"  
"There wasn't anything else available. I promise I'll get you a new stash tomorrow."  
Demyx pouted. "…Are Roxas and Xion with you?""  
"Yeah, why?"  
"…Mind if I join in? Just for the snacks, you know."

And thus, Demyx started watching the game with the trio. He took two bags all for himself, but the Keybearers decided it was only fair, since it was technically his food. Demyx, of course, hadn't watched this sport before either, and his reaction was about the same as Xion's. The Bright Shadow and the Melodious Nocturne mostly bonded together with a conversation on the finer points of matching lyrics with music—Xion's singing was only getting better, and Demyx wanted to be the band sitar player.

The game was lulling at this point, and Axel decided to start talking football trivia. "Can any of you guess what that football is made of?"  
The Keybearers shook their heads. "No fair!" Demyx said. "We've never watched this game before, remember?"  
Axel smiled. "It's made out of leather now, but it used to be made out of pigskin."  
Xion pulled back in disgust. "They used to be made out of _pigs? _The poor pigs!"  
"It really isn't any different from when you eat a hot dog, Xi."  
"Of course it's different! At least I don't throw it around and run all over it. And I'm vegetarian anyway, remember?"  
"…Do you know what leather is made of?"  
"No."  
"Actually, knowing you, you probably don't want to know…"

Soon, there was another knock on the door. It was none other than Saix.

The blue-haired Nobody took a look at the room. "I wasn't informed that you were converting your room into Axel's Home for Chronic Slackers."  
"I told you, Saix, there is such a thing as time when work isn't happening."  
Saix just sighed in response. "What are you doing?"  
"Introducing the Keybearers to football. American football."  
"I don't think that is a healthy sport for them to play."  
"Not playing, just watching. It's the Super Bowl today, apparently. Want to join in?"  
"Axel, it's a stupid sport where men overcompensating for their low intelligence run into each other at high speeds and then beat each other to the ground. Why would I _ever _want to watch it played?"

In a bold move, Axel forcibly pulled Saix into the room. The Luna Diviner _actually _rolled his eyes this time, but he was watching the television. A very close touchdown played out on the screen, ending the game in a victory for the team who pulled it off. Roxas cheered and grabbed the box of sugar cookies—he'd been staring at them longingly all game, as had Xion and Demyx.

Saix snorted. "The other team has terrible strategy. They had the perfect chance to tackle the quarterback and they let him go. I would make them go through training again."

Axel just grinned.

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**THE END**

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**Yes, I did just pull off a Kingdom Hearts Super Bowl special. Yes, I am the King of Platonic AkuRokuShi. Yes, I did have Saix watching football. Yes, you may stop gaping now. :)**

**I liked writing this story, even if it was a little short. I like taking odd ideas and making them work. It gets my creative juices pumping. That's why I like taking on giftfic prompts—the public comes up with some very out-of-left-field ideas that I am pretty much forced to make work somehow. If you ever want to try such things, remember, it helps to think outside the box and stay flexible. It's easier when you don't outline.**

**If you old-timers are wondering about Xion's change of title, well, as it turns out there is someone on this site with the username XionTheBlackRose. Total coincidence, I swear. I PM'd her, and she told me to change it. It's been changed in Castle Cleanup and Interesting Situations as well. Why must all the good names be taken? :)**

**Anyway, this is where all the fluff will go from now on. Unless I'm doing a different fic at the time, I will try to update this daily if I can. I'll probably put giftfics in here, too, unless the person specifically states that they want their fic to be multiple chapters.**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Question for reviewers: Do you think the Organization would make a good football team? Why or why not? Best answer gets a giftfic, because I'm awesome that way. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for more from the sea-salt trio!**


	2. Girls Are Scary

**Hello there again! It's time for another sea-salt story. Remember that scene early on in Days where Xion has lost her Keyblade, but you're having a hard time concentrating because her hood keeps going up and down, up and down, up and down, and you just want to scream "MAKE UP YOUR MIND!"? When I first saw this on the DS, I thought it was a glitch, but then it was shown in the HD ReMix, too, and there is no explanation for it whatsoever. I can only assume it's supposed to mean something, but they never explain what. It's not in the manga, meaning it wasn't essential to the story. Heck, Axel and Roxas don't even seem to notice. "Compulsive hood-flipping, yup, totally normal…"**

**Anyway, you can finally get an explanation in this story, coupled with an entertaining meeting that I kind of wish had happened in canon all of a sudden. I hope you enjoy. :)**

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**Girls Are Scary**

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The wind was annoying for several reasons. It blew in Xion's face, forcing her to close her eyes. It made her cold, and Twilight Town was already a very cold environment in February. It made the flying Heartless a little more agile.

But the main reason the wind was so aggravating to Xion was that it kept blowing her hood down.

In retrospect, letting Demyx cut her hair had not been the smartest move. The haircut wasn't _horrible, _but it was certainly embarrassing, and Xion wanted to keep her hood up as long as possible, to give it a chance to grow back in. Let the locals be suspicious—they were wary of her from the cult-like outfit already, and a little privacy never hurt.

But the wind kept blowing the thing down, forcing her to pull it back up, only for it to fall down again a few seconds later. This was a major design flaw in the uniform, left unnoticed and unfixed because the Organization was usually given such a wide berth that they could keep their hoods down without being noticed anyway. When they did have to have their hoods up, there usually wasn't enough wind to cause any real problems.

She didn't know how to fix the problem. Her current strategy was to ignore it as long as possible and hope the wind stopped soon, flipping it back up whenever it was blown down. But that wasn't really ignoring. It was getting on her nerves more and more each time the hood blew down. She was fighting the wind itself, and it hated her.

She was halfway through her mission now, and the wind was only picking up. Now she was having a hard time getting it up in the first place. It wasn't like she could just turn around or walk backwards. Since her promotion, her schedule had gotten more and more packed. A little wind couldn't cancel anything on it. Saix may have been getting nicer by the day, but he still wouldn't be happy if the mission never got done because she stuck around in places that had already been cleared of useful Heartless, waiting for the wind to stop. And of course, it was just her luck that the subway had been locked down today due to a tram breakdown.

Her luck turned around when she was walking down one of the winding streets. She saw a secluded area, covered with some towels and a metal fence in place of a wall and a door. Xion would normally never enter such a place, but she was desperate. It was completely protected from wind in all directions, and that was good enough for her.

When she stepped inside, she realized she was an intruder here just a moment too late. A short, slightly chubby boy with a t-shirt and a bandanna jumped straight up in the air, screaming like a little girl. Xion had seen him around here a few times, and had heard him called 'Pence'. She had also heard him called 'smart', and she decided to take the lemons of this accidental intrusion and make lemonade.

She raised her hands in the air to show she was unarmed. The fact that she could summon a giant key at any moment was irrelevant. "Don't worry! I'm friendly!"  
Pence backed up against the wall. "Who are you? What do you want?"  
Organization XIII was supposed to be a covert operation, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "My name is Xion. I need your help."  
"Not until you show me your face!"

Xion was reluctant, but she really needed this problem solved. She flipped down her hood, revealing herself. Pence's eyes went wide for a moment—even with the less-than-perfect haircut, Xion was, ahem, nice to look at, and raging hormones affected teenage boys in Twilight Town just the same as anywhere else. He quickly pulled himself off the wall and acted as casually as one could in such a situation. It wasn't a very convincing performance, but gullible Xion bought it.

Pence scratched his head, trying to make it look cool rather than nervous. "Okay, Xion, what's the problem?"  
Xion put on the puppy dog eyes that had proven so effective against Axel. "This hood. It won't stay up. The wind keeps blowing it down. I really, _really _need it to stay up. Can you please help me?"

Pence would normally reject such a request, but _darn, _this Xion girl was cute. He'd feel really bad if he let her down, and besides, if this worked out well, he could finally brag about girls to Hayner, who was hogging Olette at the moment. Far from an unwanted intrusion, this was now the lucky break he had been waiting for his whole life (read, 'since he got those hormones').

The boy nodded. "Yeah, sure, whatever you need. Let's see…" Pence looked at the hood, trying to figure out what the problem was. "I'll need to blow a fan in your face as a test."

This made Xion slightly annoyed with Pence, but if it fixed her problem, she was willing to do it. She flipped the hood up as Pence set up a high-speed camera and a laptop. Pence told her to put it back down—they needed a 'control test', whatever that was.

Pence held the fan in front of her face. "Control. Three, two, one…"

The fan blowing full-blast in Xion's face made the wind outside look like a mild breeze. She instinctively shielded her face, but luckily Pence decided that this didn't interfere with the test much, since she would have done it outside as well.

After a few long seconds, Pence shut off the fan. "Okay, we got some good data there. Now flip the hood up."

Xion did as she was told, and the fan blew again. Inevitably, the hood flew off quite impressively. Xion would have thought this good enough, but Pence wanted more tests. One from each side. One from the back. A second frontal test. Now another from the back…

After an hour of this, Xion was just as annoyed with Pence as she had been with the wind. Luckily, the last test ended right around that point. The boy started doing some very complicated-looking calculations—actually, he was just drawing gibberish to impress her, but again, Xion was young and gullible.

Pence started talking more techno-babble than Vexen—more impressive gibberish. "If we take the hood's aerodynamic hyperflux rating, divide it by ten, then add in its universal wind resistance quotient and multiply it by the Wendy Number—that's 76,342.57814—we get… ah-ha!" Pence stuck his finger in the air. "Just as I suspected! Your hood is in the… Amano Range. That means it is highly susceptible to high winds. Did you get all that?"

Xion just stared blankly at him for a second. "I'm terrible at math. Plus, I thought Amano was an ice cream brand. Speaking of ice cream, mind if I have one of these, I love these things…" She grabbed a bar of sea-salt ice cream in a very prominently placed box. It was the first thing Pence had seen—what was he supposed to do?

Pence continued before Xion could put two and two together. "I can get you a new, better hood in a week."  
"A _week?!" _Xion threw her arms in the air. "I need the hood to stay up _now!"_

Pence pulled back, surprised by the sudden outburst. She had been so kind and cute until now, if a little reluctant. Now had a really angry expression on her face, like a growling dog. He fumbled. "Um, I can fix something up for you to use in the meantime, wait just a second…"

The boy frantically grabbed a nearby cardboard box, cut it up and taped it back together in various ways and gave it to Xion. "Wear this under your hood," he said quickly. "It'll look a little odd, but the hood will stay up."

Xion grabbed the box, put it over her head, flipped the hood up and stormed out without another word.

Pence sat down on the floor and sighed in relief. If this was what girls were like, Hayner could keep them all to himself if he was really that crazy. This kid was just happy staying single, thank you very much. As long as he never had to get yelled at by Xion again, he was fine with it—that girl was _scary._

Too bad he had taken so long that the wind had stopped blowing.

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"…And that's why I screamed at him, threw a box in his face and then threw his ice cream against the wall. I'm sorry."  
Axel was hitting his forehead over and over with the palm of his hand. "Xi, we need to talk about your temper…"

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**THE END**

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**I almost feel sorry for Pence. Almost. :)**

**Yes, if you've read Noise, you know that my version of Xion has some inner anger issues that are usually well-hidden, but make her a little scary when they come to the surface. Personally, I think this makes her a little more awesome—her strict, canon-approved version mostly reverts to uselessness when faced with trouble. What kind of life philosophy is that? Not that random, violent outbursts are any better, but they are more fun to write. :) My headcanon is quickly becoming its own world, with the old characters taking on new personalities. I think if I keep going, I'll eventually truly have an alternate version of 358/2 Days, and possibly even the rest of the series afterward if I mess with canon enough. It makes me excited.**

**I did, in fact, name the sea-salt ice cream brand after Shiro Amano, the author of the manga for Days. Read the manga, it's way better if you're just in it for the story! :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: Why do you think Xion's hood took on a life of its own? Answer in the reviews, and you may win a giftfic!**

**Thanks for reading, and tune in tomorrow for more sea-salt stories!**


	3. Dogfight

**Welcome back. Yes, it's time for another sea-salt story. This is my first real attempt at writing a fight scene. The fight scene in Stupid Questions wasn't shown on screen—only the moments just before and just after—and the fight scene I wrote in Interesting Situations, as much as I like that story, did feel like a bit of a cop-out—it became essentially 'reader, insert epic fight scene here'. Given that Kingdom Hearts is often action-packed, and that fight scenes are going to get a lot more common in future story arcs, I'm going to need to fix this. Be sure to provide feedback.**

**Fair warning, Seifer is going to be a jerk to the Keybearers. I say this in advance because it means this story probably won't be all cute and fluffy, though it will stay at K+ levels (if on the high end). Don't worry—you'll be satisfied with how it ends for him. :)**

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**Dogfight**

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It wasn't often that Axel ran late. Three-fourths of the time, he made sure to get done quickly, to maximize his time with Roxas and Xion. It helped keep them out of trouble, and besides, he enjoyed spending time with them. However, today fell in the other one-fourth.

The Keybearers stood in the plaza with the ice cream stand, patiently waiting for their friend and mentor. They had known that he might run late that day—a Darkside had emerged in Wonderland, and Axel had been sent with Demyx. He had told them in advance to just go to the clocktower themselves if he was more than an hour late.

It had been an hour and a half at this point, which Xion was justifying by calling it 'cutting him some slack'. Roxas would have been bored out of his skull, but he was currently engaging in an interesting conversation with his friend. He was enjoying the conversation. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying talking with Xion a lot lately. Calling it a 'crush' is debatable—Roxas didn't really understand that sort of thing yet. It was closer to the way brother and sister like each other.

In any case, Roxas was disappointed when the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of three fellows who seemed to make Xion a little nervous. He took one look at the leader and knew at once that this guy was a jerk. The kid had a smirk on his face, not a fun smirk like Axel, but a mean smirk like Xigbar or Vexen.

The group walked up to them, and the kid with the smirk spoke, cockiness filling his voice. "Hi there. My name is Seifer. You two are obviously new here, or else you wouldn't be standing in that spot."  
The other kids chuckled like it was the funniest joke ever uttered. Roxas looked confused. "Why can't we stand here?" he asked.  
"Because this spot, my friends, is reserved by the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee for a… meeting. We talk here during all our meetings. You're gonna need to move."  
Xion started to move, but Roxas held her shoulder lightly. It had been a long day, and he wasn't in the mood for this. "We were here first," he said, trying to emulate Axel's more intimidating voices. "You can find a new place for the meeting."  
"I'm afraid we can't do that. This spot—" He shoved Roxas. "—is reserved."

Xion looked ready to run. Seifer looked tough, and he had backup. But his behavior had only fueled Roxas with anger. Roxas didn't usually get mad at anyone, but he had already been annoyed by the interruption, and shoving only made it worse.

Roxas' voice got dark. "We were here first. Find a new spot."  
Xion jumped—she had never heard Roxas like that. This made Seifer notice her. "Maybe you can leave and you're… friend here can listen in?"  
Roxas only darkened his voice even more, sounding like Axel in his most hate-fueled moments. "No way am I leaving her with you."  
"In that case, we might have to force you off the premises. Again, the lady will be staying…"

That's when Roxas punched Seifer in the mouth.

Seifer stumbled back, wiping his face. "Oh, is that how you want to do this? Okay then. Let's have a little dogfight."

The boy lunged forward, swinging his arm. Roxas ducked down and struck him in the gut. Seifer fell to the ground, clutching his stomach. He yelled to the other two kids—"Don't just stand there! Get him!"

The kids fell on Roxas from both sides, swinging foam batons. Without thinking, Roxas grabbed one in mid-swing and kicked its wielder, tearing it from the boy's hands. He swung the baton hard at the other boy, knocking him down. He got into the stance he always used with the Keyblade.

As Seifer got up, anger flowed across his face. "Oh, now you want to do it like Struggle, huh? Everyone knows I'm the best guy in town at it."  
Xion ran over to Roxas. "Stop it!" she yelled. "This isn't worth it!"

Roxas wasn't listening. This kid had tried to take his best friend, and he would make sure that the result was pain. He felt the baton in his hands, giving it a test swing as a weight test. It made a satisfying _swoosh _as it passed through the air. It was much lighter than the Keyblade, but all that meant was that he could swing it harder.

Seifer pulled himself up. He grabbed the other baton off the ground and swung it down. Roxas parried the blow, swinging his arm to strike Seifer with his balled fist as he did so. Seier fell to the ground again, hitting the stone road with a loud _thunk. _

As the two lunged at each other again, Xion jumped in the middle and tried to push the boys apart. Seifer shoved her, knocking her to the ground. Enraged, Roxas swung the baton even harder. His moves were automatic, muscle memory fueling him.

Seifer parried each blow, if barely. Roxas kept pushing, forcing the bully into an empty stall. He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins now, making him hit even harder. Seifer fell in, plastic bottles falling all over him. Roxas jumped over the stand, swinging the baton into Seifer's side as he did.

Roxas stood over his opponent, still ready to strike. "Had enough, you jerk?"  
Seifer pulled himself against a wall, sitting up. He wasn't seriously injured, but the bruises would hurt for a long time. "All right," he said, raising his hand in a gesture of surrender. "I get it. You can keep the spot."

Roxas panted heavily. He wasn't getting out of his fighting stance. Xion ran over to him, using the side door to get in. She was yelling again. "Roxas! Let him go! You aren't like this!"

The voice finally registered, and Roxas came to his senses. What was he _thinking? _He could have just rolled his eyes and found a new place to talk to Xion, but he had gotten angry, and now the town bully would know them and have a grudge. His cover was blown, and so was Xion's, and it was _his fault._

But he still couldn't get Seifer's words out of his head. _Again, the lady will be staying… _The way he had said that had forced him into fight-or-flight mode somehow, calling on him to defend his friend.

A dark corridor opened a few feet away. Axel stepped out. "Sorry I'm so late, Demyx was making me do all the work…" He noticed the carnage by the stand. "Rox? Xi? What's going on?"

Roxas sighed and lowered the baton, letting it slip out of his hands. He had some explaining to do…

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Axel listened to the whole story at the clocktower, without interrupting or prying for more details. When Roxas finished, he sighed and his head in his hands. Why did the Keybearers get into these situations so often?

"Okay," Axel said, wiping his face one more time and looking at the Keybearers with a serious expression. "First off, if anyone _ever _says anything _remotely _like that, you don't stand and fight unless there isn't any other option. You just _run. _Understand?" The two nodded their heads, and he sighed again. "You know, it would have been a lot easier if you had just moved."  
Roxas looked down. "Yeah. I messed up bad. I'm sorry, Axel."

Axel put his hand on Roxas' shoulder. "Hey, there is one good thing about this. You stood up for her, and that's important. And hey—he was the jerk in that situation, and he'll know not to mess with you again. Just think a little next time, all right?"

Roxas nodded. The three watched the sunset in silence.

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**THE END**

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…

**Just letting you sit on the ending for a moment. :)**

**I think I did well for my first time. I tried to keep the pace fast. I did end up with what I call the 'Who's Who Problem'—almost every sentence started with 'Roxas' or 'Seifer'. I have this problem a lot. If anyone can give me pointers on how to avoid that in the future, that'd be great.**

**You know, I have now had two stories in a row involving the Keybearers getting scary-mad—though of course, Xion was comedic, and Roxas here was **_**scary**_**. I'm starting to wonder how my Firey!Keybearers would respond to a **_**real **_**life-or-death fight. The Heartless don't count—they might have been scary the first time, but by this point, they're routine and easily dispatched. The idea really piques my interest. **_**Foreshadowing…**_

**Credit where credit is due: The title of this story comes from a Jackie Chan-style martial arts short film on YouTube I was watching for inspiration. Watch it, it's really good. KH3 Wishlist: Unarmed combat, in full Hollywood martial arts style! Not very likely, but I'm allowed to dream… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. If anyone can give a good, detailed critique on the main fight and tell me how I can improve next time, they'll get a giftfic and my eternal gratitude.**

**Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for more sea-salt stories!**


	4. Yo-Yo

**Here we are for another sea-salt story. This one is much fluffier than the last one, because I've been reading Mangoes and Limes (read it, I faved it) and it's really, really fluffy. Those bite-size stories are just so addictive! :) For continuity purposes, this takes place just before the start of Invader—as in, a few hours. They are not directly linked, however. It will also probably be short and sweet, because I'm attempting to write both this and the second chapter of Invader in one night. I hope you enjoy. *gasp* I wrote a short Author Note! :)**

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**Yo-Yo**

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The Keybearers had thought of Axel as a good friend before. Now they thought of him as the coolest man in Organization XIII.

Toys were uncommon in the Organization, even among the children. The mere fact that Axel had been able to produce this amazing, almost magical object from a coat pocket was cool enough. What he was doing with it, however, was far more impressive.

Axel wrapped the yo-yo around his arm, bounced it a few times, brought it back and made a simple picture with the strings. After holding the picture for a few seconds, he bounced the yo-yo horizontally, like a frog's tongue, seeming to defy the basic laws of gravity. Then he scared his little audience for a moment by whipping it dangerously close to a vase, never quite hitting it but still coming close enough to make Roxas check to make sure Saix wasn't watching.

When the device snapped back into Axel's hand, Xion's jaw dropped. "How do you _do _that?"  
"By being awesome."  
"Can you spell words?"

Without even blinking, Axel spelled out _Xion _in blocky letters. This was when the Keybearers decided that yo-yos were magical. Even Xigbar clapped, watching from afar. Then he remembered he was still supposed to hate Axel for at least another two weeks and suddenly became very absorbed in an article in his magazine.

Axel snorted. "Was that approval, Xigbar? I think that was approval."  
Xigbar just grunted in response. Roxas, on the other hand, was the most enthusiastic Axel had ever seen him. "Mind if I try?" he asked.

Axel tossed the yo-yo to him. "Sure, you can try. Don't try anything fancy like me just yet—just drop the yo-yo down the ground and bring it back up."

Roxas was really good at the dropping part. It was getting it back up he wasn't so good at. The thing hit the floor, and no matter how hard he tried, Roxas could not bring it back up to his hand, even when Axel tried to teach him the proper technique. It was a little pathetic, actually. Roxas was humiliated, but he still had leftover awestruck wonder from Axel's display of skill, so he didn't feel too bad.

Xion, being the slightly more dexterous one, did a little better, managing to bring the yo-yo up and down a few times, though she was frustrated by the speed of the thing—that is, the lack thereof. Axel had made it look easy, whipping the thing around like a rocket, but for Xion, it moved like molasses.

The girl sighed a bit before handing it back. "I don't think it likes us."  
Axel laughed. "It's an inanimate object, Xi. It doesn't like or hate you."  
"But I'm awesome, too."  
"Ah, but there is another thing that makes me so good with it. I have years of practice."  
Both Keybearers eyes widened. "_Years?" _they said in unison.

Axel smiled, remembering that they hadn't even made it through six months yet, and had trouble comprehending multiple years. "Yup. Don't worry though—you can do some neat stuff after a few hours with it. I can teach you some more when you get back from your mission."  
"Finally," a familiar voice said. "Someone remembers that there's work to do."

Axel turned to see Saix standing next to him in the doorway. His boss looked at him with the usual tired stare. "Axel. You know that thing is dangerous and stupid."  
"You're just still mad at me for accidentally bopping you the day before Rox got here."  
"I am not so immature as to still be holding onto an incident that occurred months ago."  
"Uh-huh. Just hold on to that, Sai, it'll make you feel better."

Saix did that thing where he seemed to be rolling his eyes without actually doing so again. He was getting better at it. "Don't hit anything. Assignments in five minutes."

Axel went back to showing off his moves, mesmerizing the Keybearers again. Vexen started to walk in, his usual arrogant swagger evident. 'Started' is the operative word here. He walked straight into the moving yo-yo, tangling himself in it.

Roxas and Xion cringed, not in sympathy, but rather fearing retribution. The Chilly Acedemic untied himself, throwing the string on the floor like a toddler, and turned to Axel. "What is the meaning of this?!"  
Axel just put his hands behind his head. "Sorry. It was an accident."  
"An accident? Oh yes, making me fall face-first onto the floor. Accidents happen, don't they?" He turned to Saix. "Certainly, you understand this."  
Saix turned from his paperwork with a deadpan expression. "I would have thought you smart enough to notice the plastic object repeatedly flying in front of the doorway as you walked in."

Axel grinned at the flabbergasted Vexen. "Ooo, burned…"

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**THE END**

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**No, that was not an intentional pun. :)**

**I got the inspiration for this watching a yo-yo champion show off his moves in person. I didn't even know there were yo-yo champions! It was pretty much the best thing I've ever seen done with a children's toy. I mean, when I try to use a yo-yo, I get about the same result as Roxas. Axel is now a yo-yo champion in my headcanon, because he's everything else awesome. Granted, the champion I meet never spelt out any words, but it seems to be theoretically possible, especially for Axel the Omni-Awesome. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this **_**very **_**short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: What other awesome things can Axel do? Best answer gets a giftfic.**

**Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in next time for more sea-salt stories!**


	5. The Hair Salon That Never Was

**Put on Dearly Beloved, because it's time for another sea-salt story. I'd like to give a shoutout to v.t.7 for coming up with this idea, which should be quite fun to write. I love writing Xion, so when v.t.7 came up with a perfect prompt for a story involving her, I jumped at the chance to type something up. Thanks, Veronica! Hey, Xion, she convinced me to give you yet another fic for you when you're already set to conquer Invader, so go say thank you or something. *Xion hugs v.t.7* :)**

**Continuity is anywhere in between Stupid Questions and Castle Cleanup. So, that means Saix is still a little bit of a jerk (though not as much as before SQ), Xion isn't singing yet, she isn't a full member yet and her friendship with Demyx hasn't started yet. I think I'm throwing out the real-time thing and giving myself more freedom to bounce around in time. Sorry to anyone who actually had a countdown timer. :)**

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The Hair Salon That Never Was

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In general, Xion loved Atlantica. The change of pace with the mermaid transformation was fun, the underwater environment was beautiful and she liked listening to the locals sing various songs, especially the one with red hair, though she didn't come out often. There was one thing she did not like about the place, though. There was one thing that aggravated her every time.

Going there made her hair wet.

Xion_ hated _getting her hair wet. It felt weird, it took ages to dry and it messed up the hair she combed every morning to perfection. She was the one who always used Larxene's hairdryer after a shower, because the towel was never adequate to get her hair as dry as she liked, and her hair was still messed up when she turned the dryer off.

As you can imagine, going to the bottom of the ocean did not help this matter much. It was always her hair—the rest of her body came back surprisingly dry, as if she had only stepped into a light sprinkle of rain, but that was because her hair absorbed most of the water, and looked like a bucket had been dumped on it. Then Axel would have to hold off Larxene for a few hours as her hairdryer was used to dry an amount of water it was never designed to handle, which wasn't exactly as fun as eating ice cream at the clocktower like he usually did in the evenings.

Thus, Axel wished things could burn underwater so he could burn Atlantica to the ground and never have to talk to Larxene again. It wasn't like there were that many Heartless there, anyway—the Keyhole had been closed some time ago, and all the remaining Heartless were just stragglers who had managed to carve their own niece in the ecosystem. Why Saix kept assigning missions there, and why he always felt Xion to be _just perfect _for those missions, he had no clue.

This led to the predicament of the Flurry of Dancing Flames on this particular day—getting his mission done early and coming back before Xion, and then watching the point where people RTC'd with a great sense of dread. He would rather do anything else than defend Xion's multi-hour hairdryer session. Literally _anything. _Which was why he was willing to rack his brain for an alternate solution. His mind at that moment sounded something like this:

_Xion's hair, Xion's hair, what can you do to dry hair fast without a hair dryer… hair dryer… hair salon... I've got it!_

A few minutes later, Xion returned. As usual, her hair was a huge mess, so wet that Saix gave her a glare for dripping water all over the floor. Usually, this would be when Axel would double-check his potions for the upcoming boss battle with Larxene. Today, he was actually smiling, basking in his own genius.

Xion looked at her reflection in the window and kicked an imaginary stone. "I look like a mop again. I hate it when my hair gets wet."  
Axel walked over casually. "You've mentioned that a few times, Xi. Don't worry. I've got a solution way better than stealing that hairdryer."  
Xion looked up. "What's that?"  
"Something I hear girls are supposed to do at least once in their lives. Come on, we've got a lot of work to do, and it's going to involve a lot of towels, a curling iron and one of Zexion's books…"

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"You, of all people, want to read _Hair Styles for Nobodies_?"  
"It's not like you read it anyway."  
"Why do you want it?"  
Axel pointed at the towel Xion was currently using to make her hair even more of a mess in a futile attempt to make it dry.  
"Oh. The Nobody Guides are all over there, in alphabetical order…"

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"Vexen."  
"Yes, my mortal enemy?"  
"I need your curling iron."  
"Why would I give you my curling iron?"  
"Give me your curling iron or I will ram this chakram so far up your—"  
"It's over there."  
"Why do you have a curling iron, anyway?"  
"Because science. Get out before I reconsider."

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"Rox. I need your help with something."  
Roxas took one look at Xion. "Atlantica?"  
"Yes," the girl murmured.  
"Oh, that sucks. What can I do?"  
Axel patted his head. "A lot of things, Rox. And it starts by getting a chair to Xion's room."

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And so, the sea-salt trio gathered in Xion's room, ready to remedy the hair situation. Drying it was step one. Despite Xion's frantic towel use, it was still just as wet as it had been when she stepped out of the dark corridor. Most hair stylists would have approached the problem with 11-petawatt hairdryers. However, there were perks to being the resident pyro. No, he did not set Xion's hair on fire—that would be stupid. Instead, he created a fire in the air _around _Xion's hair, evaporating the seawater instantly.

When the flames vanished from the air, Xion had a huge smile on her face. "Thank you so much!"  
"I'm not done yet, Xi." Axel handed her the book. "Pick a hairdo, any hairdo."  
Xion flipped through the pages for a minute before pointing at a picture of a hairdo that looked like the waves of the sea. "I like this one."  
Axel, ever the showman, made a dramatic bow. "It shall be done, milady."  
Somehow, Xion's smile got even bigger. It was moments like that when Axel felt like he had a heart.

After a quick glance at the instructions, Axel went to work. Roxas was mostly support for this operation, as Axel showed off yet another talent that made him something of a superstar to the Keybearers—hair styling. Any professional who saw him working would probably have screamed at the heavens, asking why they had been bested so.

Halfway though, Roxas noticed how quickly and efficiently Axel was working. "Wow, you're good at this."  
"Well, how else am I supposed to keep up this awesome red 'do? Now no peeking—Xi is going to knock your socks off."

Half an hour later, Axel clapped his hands and turned the office chair toward the mirror. Xion's jaw dropped. It had actually come out _better _than the one in the picture. Somehow, Axel had made her hair look longer than it actually was, which was a fairly impressive feat, since her short hair didn't give him much to work with.

Axel smirked. "Not my best work, but it'll do."  
Xion gave him the tightest hug he'd received since she was new and kind of clinging to him for safety. If Axel had a heart, it would have been glowing as bright as the sun.

Meanwhile, Roxas finally understood what 'hormones' felt like.

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When Xion entered the Grey Room, there were a lot of signs of admiration. Xigbar whistled, Zexion actually _looked up from his book, _Luxord's eyes went wide and Larxene looked beyond jealous. Axel just stood in the doorway, allowing Xion her moment of fame, a moment that was very rare for her.

Only Saix seemed unimpressed as he walked by. "Axel. You spoil her too much."  
"Oh, did you call her a 'her' again? Good boy. You're getting better at that trick."  
"Only at your insistence. I still don't like her."  
"Twice in a row! I'll have to give you a treat."  
"Hmph."

The Melodious Nocturne looked the most surprised of all—but not because of the hairdo. When his stare became noticeable, Zexion left the room quickly. He had the best danger sense in the Organization, short of Saix. It kept him alive when the sparks were flying and he just wanted to finish that last chapter. He was lucky, for at that moment, Demyx said something so stupid even Saix turned from his paperwork with a did-I-hear-that-right look on his face.

"Xion is a _girl?" _

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"Ready, Xi?"  
"You bet."  
"Let's do this."

As Xion trashed his room with the Keyblade and Axel caught blackmail footage of him cowering at the chakrams, Demyx decided that he would always point out how feminine Xion was from now on…

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THE END

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**Poor Demyx, always the butt monkey. Well, what does he expect when he passes his workload off to Roxas right in the middle of the game and makes me mad? :)**

**The reason I choose the time period is because I knew only Demyx would be stupid enough to say something like that, and he's seen referring to her as 'little lady' in Castle Cleanup. I also considered Roxas (spends too much time with her not to notice her gender), Zexion (not that stupid, and would probably just think to himself, 'Oh, she's a girl' before returning to his book) and even Vexen (not that stupid, and *spoilers have been censored by the National Spoiler Agency*). It's a little uncreative, but don't worry. I'll up my game next time. :)**

**I am going to be typing away at the computer during the day for once, to get the third chapter of Invader out before 7:00 PM. I would have prioritized it first, but then Xion used her hypnotic powers to draw me to do this first. She has me under mind control… Yes, Xion, KH is only about you, Square Enix was never nice enough to you, I am your humble servant… *help!* :)**

**More thanks to v.t.7 for the awesome prompt. I hope to work with you as a partner in crime—err, creativity again someday. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: If my fics were adapted as an anime drawn like the manga, what character would you want to play, and why? Giftfic for the best answer.**

**Thanks for reading, and as always, be sure to tune in for more sea-salt stories!**


	6. Panic

**Welcome to another sea-salt story. So, I'm writing this because FFN is down right now (6:09 PM, February 7****th****, 2015). At first, I was really mad at FFN, but apparently, it's being caused by a massive power outage in Los Angeles. I'll repeat that: I was angry about not being able to update my story **_**when an entire major city didn't have any power. **_**Whoops… Apologies to FFN for my selfishness, and a shoutout to the people of LA.**

**So, to make up for it, here's a story inspired by the response to the downtime, which in general was similar to my initial reaction, about freaking out over the small things and learning not to fret over a little complication. Continuity is a few days prior to Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Panic**

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As far as Xion was concerned, the end of the worlds had come.

What was the problem, you may ask? Had fifty billion Giant Heartless suddenly appeared in the castle? Was the clocktower being demolished? Was the sky falling? No, it was none of these things. It was something far greater, far more horrible, at least in Xion's eyes. Here is what was getting a reaction out of the Bright Shadow one might expect from a damsel in a B-movie in response to the giant monster.

The sea-salt ice cream was gone.

So what, you are certainly asking now? Go to the stand, get some more. But to fully comprehend the scope of this problem, one most look at it from the eyes of a (for our purposes) teenage girl who has two friends and lots of anxiety. Think on this for a moment. Say you are Xion. You spend every evening of every day eating ice cream on a dangerously high ledge. You have been assigned with ice cream duty for the day. Your only two friends in a group of complete jerks are counting on you. The ice cream is gone. It's always there—_always. _And you had a Giant Heartless today, so _you_ _spent all your money _preparing, and you used everything you bought, so you have nothing to sell to the Moogle, and mission rewards won't be enough to cover it for all three sea-salt partners.

What? It still sounds merely inconvenient to you? Well, you also have to remember that Xion could be a panicky type at times. It came from the months of constantly worrying that Saix was going to dusk her at any moment, a fear that had been transferred to Xemnas when Saix suddenly had a change of attitude. It had become a self-preservationinstinct—as long as she did everything _perfectly, _no one would ever have any reason to dusk her, and she would keep the friends she had made and not be alone. To Xion, this was completely logical. If you think about it, it explains a lot of things about her behavior.

She had a logical chain of events to back this panic up, too. The thought process went something like this:

_1) Sea-salt ice cream disappears, leading to 2) Roxas and Axel not having any ice cream, leading to 3) them breaking the friendship because of lack of responsibility, leading to 4) complete loneliness and lack of friends. HOLY PANCAKE, TIME TO PANIC!_

See? Logical.

That brings us to her state at that moment. She was running around the Castle That Never Was madly, looking for the missing ice cream. In her panicked state, she was looking in very illogical places—the bathroom, under the sink, even under couch cushions. Some other members had noticed her panic, but none really paid attention to her. So the puppet was acting up again—it was Axel's problem.

She slammed the door of the freezer after checking it for the fifteenth time. Her breathing was fast, and she was pulling the chains of her coat compulsively. Her friends weren't back yet. They had recon today, and it was expected to take a while. She still had an hour. She tried to calm herself with this knowledge, but it went from _I still have an hour _to _I only have an hour, _making it worse.

Zexion looked up from his book. He was reading while eating a banana. "What's the problem?"  
Okay. Zexion wasn't too bad. He mostly kept to himself. Maybe he could help. "Have you seen any sea-salt ice cream?" she asked.  
"I don't eat ice cream, sea-salt or not. Sorry."  
_Well, that was helpful…  
_Seeing Xion's face, and actually finding the emotion of 'sympathy' in his memory, Zexion sighed. "…But I do own a few cookbooks. One is entirely devoted to little snacks like that. Perhaps we can find a recipe for it and throw something together."  
"Thank you! I'll find a way to make this up to you, I promise!" Xion ran off to Zexion's library. With another sigh and a shake of the head, the Organization bookworm followed.

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"Don't flip the pages so fast. You'll rip it. Just use the table of contents."  
"What's the table of contents?"  
"…How often do you read?"  
"I read a lot!"  
"I mean other than the five manga books you own."  
"…Well, I don't really own any other books, besides that elephant book you gave me…"  
"Remind Axel to make more bets with me that I'll lose, because you need to read more."

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Soon enough, Xion and Zexion had found the appropriate recipe. Now they were in the kitchen, attempting it with half an hour to go on the deadline. Zexion was going to do most of the hard stuff, but Xion was insisting on cracking the eggs so that she could be of some use other than grabbing things out of the pantry. She had never known the recipe involved eggs, but apparently it did.

Unfortunately, asking Xion to crack an egg was like asking Xemnas to speak in short, concise sentences. When Xion tried to crack the first egg, it didn't so much crack as explode. When that mess was cleaned up, she tried again. Zexion felt Saix's pain for the first time when the egg once again turned into a firecracker.

As he reluctantly cleaned again, Zexion made the largest sigh that had ever spilled from his lungs. "You're tapping it too hard. Well, whacking it, really. Stop panicking, we still have time."  
Xion washed her hands vigorously. "We have less than half an hour now!"  
"The recipe takes five minutes to make and ten minutes to freeze. We'll be fine."  
"What if they come back early?"  
"I highly doubt that will happen. Calm down. Take a deep breath."

Xion tried to take deep breaths, but they kept coming out shaky. Zexion discreetly cracked the eggs, wondering if the panicking would eventually trigger her now-infamous temper, which he definitely did not want to deal with. Wasn't this sort of thing Axel's job? He could just leave now and let VIII deal with it when he got back.

But then he looked down on the little girl, her eyes wide, her breath oscillating between hyperventilation and shaky attempts at deepness, her fingers tugging on the necklace-like chain on her chest and running through her hair, he couldn't help but experience some shadow of what a Somebody would feel as pity. He couldn't just leave her like this. Ienzo wouldn't have.

With a final sigh (he finally understood why Axel sighed so much), Zexion quickly finished the recipe and popped the mix into the freezer. He checked the clock—six minutes to go. The ice cream would be ready right on time.

Xion hadn't noticed yet—she was still a little hysterical. Zexion put a hand on her shoulder. "It's in the freezer. You can calm down now."  
"T-t-thanks," she stuttered. She took a breath, and this time it was only mildly shaky. The second breath wasn't at all.  
"How did you end up like this, anyway?"  
"I was sup-p-posed to bring the i-ice cream today. I th-th-thought that if I wasn't able to b-b-bring it, they would stop being my f-f-friends…"  
"I had friends when I was a Somebody, Xion. They don't abandon you because you couldn't bring the ice cream one day."  
"…Oh. Okay, that makes sense. Thank you, Zexion."  
"Your welcome."

His duty complete, Zexion slumped down in the Grey Room and skimmed some novel or another. He thought to himself that he wouldn't mind dealing with Xion again, if he had to. He just hoped that next time would involve slightly less drama.

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Axel stepped out of the dark corridor. "Man, Xion would love Andy's Room. Lots of cute things for her to attach herself to."  
Roxas nodded. "Yeah. Where is she, anyway?"  
Zexion looked up. "She was having a bit of a panic attack while you were gone. Something about your ice cream being missing. I calmed her down for you. You owe me one."  
Axel cringed, then crossed his arms. "Zexion, I just gained a lot of respect for you."  
"Thank you for the compliment," he said as he went back to the book.

Xion ran in, carrying the ice cream. She was smiling, her apparent episode not evident. "Ready to go?"  
Axel patted her on the head. "Of course, Xi."

As the sea-salt trio left, Zexion closed the book and watched as the raven-haired girl gave him a smile and a nod.

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**THE END**

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**Done, with plenty of time to spare for the fifth chapter of Invader. I'm awesome like that. :)**

**I think I'm getting used to writing the Organization as nicer than it actually is. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm writing about the bad guys. I'll have to do a story involving Vexen next if I want Organization XIII to keep its reputation. Then again, Vexen has been something of a 60's Batman villain since What You Make Me Feel, so maybe it would only make things worse. :)**

**I'm pretty sure Zexion's canon Somebody name is Ienzo. If I'm wrong, let me know. While you're at it, tell me if I'm the only one who notices this little thing: Ze**_**Xion. **_**I mean, he came first, so was the writing team on strike that day or something? Come to think of it, all the Kairis except Namine have ocean-related names… Whatever it is, I think it makes a friendship between the two Nobodies a bit more beautiful. :)**

**Credit where credit is due: 'Holy pancake' is from an internet comic about the Infernal Engine boss battle. "Okay, Roxas, your mission today is to go kill an unidentified Heartless that's probably not a boss…" I hated that level. :) Anyway, it is the official Keybearer 'oh crap' phrase in my headcanon now.**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: When you realized FFN was down, did you have a Xion-type reaction, or else immediately start complaining, like I did? Best answer gets a giftfic.**

**Thanks for reading, and hope FFN keeps working so I can bring you more sea-salt stories!**


	7. Bad Chemistry

**Greetings! Grab some ice cream, because it's time for another sea-salt story. This time, I'm going to actually try to focus on Roxas, because Xion has had **_**way **_**more than her fair share by this point. Certainly, you've noticed by now that I may be **_**just ever so slightly **_**obsessed with her. Maybe I should just make a separate Xion story dump. Then again, it might become the only thing I ever write… :)**

**Anyway, Roxas is the star of this tale, and as I promised, Vexen is up to his old tricks again. It should be fun. Continuity is anywhere between Castle Cleanup and Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Bad Chemistry**

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Roxas didn't gape at his boss much, but this was a special case. "What do you mean, I'm paired with Vexen today?"  
Saix stared at his clipboard, making notes. "I mean you're paired with Vexen today. What part of this situation is hard to understand?"  
"He hates me!"  
"Which is why I'm pairing you two. You need to learn chemistry."  
"I'm not messing with his chemicals. Axel says it's bad for my health."  
"The other kind of chemistry. And before you ask, yes, there is another kind of chemistry. It means how well two people get along. For example, you and Axel have good chemistry, while you and Vexen have bad chemistry. The latter of which I am fixing today."

Roxas moaned. Vexen didn't just not get along with the sea-salt trio—he hated them with a passion as hot as Axel's flames. He was always trying to break them up or inconvenience Axel. They didn't really know why. Axel said Vexen was just jealous that he wasn't the one taking care of the Keybearers (and probably still mad over all his stuff getting torched). Xion thought it had something to do with her, though she couldn't place her finger on what. Roxas didn't care, just so long as he could avoid the man.

When he couldn't avoid Vexen, and Axel wasn't around to help him out, Roxas reverted to what Axel called the 'Zombie Gambit'—going back to the way he was during his first few weeks in Organization XIII, responding to any input from Vexen with simple affirmatives and negatives. 'Yes, sir', 'no, sir', 'whatever you say, sir'. It kept him happy while minimizing interaction.

However, when Vexen walked in, Roxas knew immediately that the usual tactic wasn't going to work. The Chilly Academic was putting something in his coat pocket, which almost always meant trouble. Roxas wondered if it was acceptable to use the Keyblade on him if he was trying some especially nasty trick.

When he reached Saix, Vexen had an arrogant smile on his face, another red flag. "What is my mission today, Luna Diviner?"  
Saix did the 'not-rolling-his-eyes' expression again, annoyed by the blatantly obvious attempt at gaining his favor. "You'll be going with Roxas today on heart collection."  
Vexen would normally rant for a few minutes, but he just smiled this time. "It shall be done."  
Saix raised an eyebrow. "That was easier than usual. Why so cheerful, Number IV?"  
"I'm in a good mood."  
Saix stared for one more moment, then opened the dark corridor for them. "Fine. Just get going."

0=0=0=0=0=0

As Roxas walked ahead, Vexen palmed the concoction in his coat. It wasn't as good as his other chemistry 'side-project', but it would serve as a good experiment, a sort of proof-of-concept for his master plan. The sea-salt trio would be broken, one way or another, and he would be around to see it. This was merely the first step.

Vexen let Roxas do most of the work, much to the boy's annoyance. Occasionally, he would toss a potion or a Cure spell if the Key of Annoyance was having too much trouble—he wanted the credit for breaking the strongest friendship in the Organization, and he certainly wasn't going to let the Heartless take it from him. He was sure not to pitch in too much, though—for this to work, Roxas needed to be tired.

Roxas breathed heavily as he took down the last Heartless, filling the mission gauge to maximum. "You're almost as bad as Demyx."  
Vexen kept up his arrogant smile. "No, Demyx would run off and leave you by yourself."  
Roxas gritted his teeth, remembering the incident at Olympus Coliseum. "Okay, I'll give you that. Let's just RTC."

Vexen hung back as Roxas walked toward the RTC point. Just as he was about to round the corner, Vexen tossed the concoction at the ground in front of him, sending Fumes Man Was Not Meant To Smell rising into the air.

Roxas coughed a bit, then stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around, as if not quite certain where he was or how he had ended up there. He turned to Vexen. "What was I just doing?"  
Vexen smiled in delight. "Heading back to the RTC point."  
"Ah, right. Thanks."

Roxas still looked extremely confused. He would occasionally stop and stare at some random thing for a moment before moving on. At one point he became so focused on a rock next to the street that he ran straight into a lamppost. Without even ending his staring contest with the rock, he walked around the lamppost like a robot.

In other words, Vexen's Potion of Confusion had worked perfectly.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix looked up from his paperwork as Roxas and Vexen returned. While they were gone, Saix had gotten a tingle from his well-honed Stupidity Sense, and he knew just from looking that something was off with Roxas.

He walked over. "Good work. Here is your mission rewards."  
Roxas took the bag of rewards with an odd expression. "We get rewards?"  
Saix stared at the boy. "Of course you do," he said slowly, suspecting something was wrong. "Just like every time you've gone on a mission in the entire time you've been with this Organization. It's called payment."  
"Payment. Right." Roxas walked off, bag in hand. He ran into a wall, shook his head like a dog, and walked toward his room.

Saix gave Vexen his best 'laser-eyes' look. "What did you do, Number IV?"  
Vexen was grinning, which was just as creepy as it sounds. "What are you talking about? He's always like that."  
"No, he was like that when he first joined. He acted that way for the first few weeks, then he learned enough from Axel to become competent. And I know he's smart enough not to eat or drink anything you offer voluntarily, so I ask again…" Saix got up close, cornering the scientist against the window. "What. Did. You. Do?"

Vexen's grin disappeared. "I didn't do anything nasty, Luna Diviner! I threw a Potion of Confusion at him. The effects will wear off after—"  
"You made a chemical concoction without my approval, and threw it at one of two people in the Organization capable of collecting hearts, and I'll go out on a limb and assume that you _didn't test it first _to make sure it wouldn't do anything worse than make him run into walls?"  
The Chilly Academic was now in a panic. "I did test it! The effects ended on the rats after twenty-four hours!"  
"Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours. I'll tell you what time it will be in twenty-four hours, Number IV." Saix checked the clock. "It will be 5:03 PM. Which is the time he comes back from missions. He will be like this for a _whole mission. _And you expect me to let this slide?"

Vexen went right up against the window. "Terribly sorry! I'll fix it, I swear!"  
"You better. Here is what is going to happen. Axel is not due back for another hour. That should give you plenty of time to come up with an effective antidote. If you do not correct this issue before Axel gets back, you will have to explain what happened, to his face, in livid detail. Then we shall see whether he feels like forgiving you. Is that understood?"  
The terrified scientist nodded hard. "Yes, sir!"  
"Get to work, then…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas had no clue what he was doing. He was following his instincts. Unfortunately, his instincts were stupid right now. Case in point, he was suddenly motivated to barge into Xion's room without knocking.

Luckily, she wasn't doing anything too bad. She was currently focused on trying to complete the math worksheet Axel had left for her—she was terrible at the subject, and Axel was trying to teach her. Of course, it did require a lot of concentration, concentration that was shattered when Roxas walked in and stood in the middle of the room, staring at her.

After a minute, Xion noticed and turned around to face her friend. "Roxas, you're not supposed to be creepy. Why are you being creepy?"  
Roxas stared blankly at her. "…I don't know."  
Xion went straight to the ultimate test. "How many days has it been since you joined Organization XIII?"  
"…I don't know."

Xion called out. "Saix, someone broke Roxas!"  
Saix poked his head in. "I know. You don't need to shout across the castle."  
"Sorry. When will he be better?"  
"Less than an hour, if Vexen has a self-preservation instinct…"

Saix turned to Roxas—well, he turned to the place Roxas had been standing just a moment before. The boy was gone.

A scream emanated from Larxene's room. "What are you doing here, you little twerp?!"  
"…I don't know."  
"Get out before I strangle you!"

Saix hit the wall with his head a few times. It was going to be one of those days.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Zexion looked up from _Chemistry for Nobodies _slowly. "Yes, Roxas?"  
Roxas stared for a moment. "What am I supposed to be doing?"  
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it has nothing to do with my library. If you need a book, I can get one for you. Otherwise, you're just standing there being useless, and you need to go talk to Axel."  
"Axel isn't back yet."  
"Then talk to Saix. Or Lexaeus. Or _anyone but me."_

As Roxas turned around, bumped into the doorframe and walked off, Zexion went back to his book, shaking his head. Then Vexen barged in, carrying a piece of paper.

Vexen seemed to be in a panicked state. "Zexion. Do you know chemistry?"  
He held up the book. "Working on that."  
"Then come with me. There is science to be done!"  
"Right now?"  
"If I don't do this science, Axel might throw me off the castle."

Zexion gave up on reading any more today, closed the book and trudged off to the lab.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Lexaeus looked up from his heart-and-crown puzzle. Roxas was staring at him in a slightly creepy manner. As the resident introvert, Lexaeus followed suit.

This staring contest would have lasted forever if Roxas didn't break the silence. "Zexion said to talk to you."  
"…Why?"  
"I don't know."  
"Then get out."  
"…Okay."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Vexen stood over the antidote. "I believe we have done well."  
Zexion looked up from the book and inspected the concoction. "Did you add the salt?"  
"Yes, of course I did!" He pointed to the spots of salt floating in the liquid. "Do you think I'm stupid?"  
"I don't even know why you brought me here if you didn't want me to help."

Rolling his eyes dramatically, Vexen carried the antidote over to Roxas, who was now standing in the middle of the hallway, staring his creepy, blank stare at a very distressed Demyx. He held the thing out in front of the Keybearer. "Drink this."

Luckily, Roxas' ability to remember Axel's don't-trust-anyone talk was seriously impaired by the Potion of Confusion, and he took it without complaint. He blinked. "What just happened? …Wait, it's coming back to me…" Roxas whipped around to face Vexen, pointing his finger at the scientist the exact same way he had been pointed at by him before. "I'm telling Axel about this!"

Vexen's face fell. "I can't bribe you with anything? Anything at all?"  
"…Anything?"  
Vexen got down on his knees, which gave everyone Goosebumps—Vexen didn't grovel in front of Saix, let alone Roxas. "Yes, anything you desire! Just don't tell him. Please! Have mercy, oh Key of Destiny!"  
Roxas considered. "Anything… well…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Rox, where'd you get an RC car?"  
"Vexen."  
"Why'd he give it to you?"  
"To be nice. Very nice. Insanely nice…"  
"Oh, so I've finally taught you the art of blackmail. Now you can bend this Organization to your will just as easily as I can."  
"Blackmail? What makes you think I'm blackmailing him?"  
"That's the spirit, Rox. That's the spirit…"

Moral of the story: Axel is a _terrible _role model sometimes. Also, don't piss off Roxas. Try to avoid angering the sea-salt trio in general.

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

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**Roxas got a whole 2,000 word story! Of course, it mostly involves him being confused and useless, so… :)**

**I wrote this last night instead of Invader, because I didn't update this yesterday. Don't worry—I'll be typing as fast as I can to get the next chapter out to you. I won't give any exact times, but it should be today, and it will definitely be tomorrow. Invader will receive its exciting updates, I promise! :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. This time, I make a request. The first person who can give me a good idea for a Roxas-centered fic will see it used in a future sea-salt story. That review box is right down there, people!**

**Thanks for reading, and as always, be sure to tune in next time for more sea-salt stories!**


	8. Crush

**Welcome, reader! Prepare yourself, because it's time for another sea-salt story. You know what I realized? As of today, we are just two days away from St. Valentine's Day! This means that I get to do Valentine's stuff! And do you know what that Valentine's stuff will be? I present the solution to my problem of being obsessed with Xion when I need Roxas stories: RokuShi! Who says you can't have your cake and eat it, too? :) **

**In the spirit of Valentine's Day, I will be writing three stories for RokuShi, the cutest couple in KH. RokuShi is the only romantic pairing I'm really into. It is my opinion that Roxas and Xion were meant for each other from the start, and that they don't explore it nearly enough in the game. With all the other stories here being AkuRoku (ugh), it's up to me to remedy the situation. This is the first step. In terms of pairing, I guess you could call it 'platonically romantic'—it has lots of hints of romance, but since they don't really understand the higher elements of such things, it stays as a familial sort of bond. Continuity for all three stories is any time after Castle Cleanup. I hope you enjoy. 3**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Crush**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Axel, why do I get nervous around Xion now?"

Today was what Axel called a 'Quiz Day'. Roxas had lots and lots of questions today. Now, they weren't too awkward, _per se, _but Axel still wasn't too sure how to answer them. The reason was that what they lacked in outright brazen awkwardness, they earned back double in emotional complexity that a Nobody shouldn't have had.

Roxas had pulled Axel into a private corner of the castle, and was now berating the man with enough questions to make him think back to the days before the 'Axel Lost His Cool' Incident. They all involved Xion in some way, and they all should have been Roxas' capacity for feeling. Roxas was different from the others, sure, but this was insane.

Axel scratched his chin, trying to drive away the sudden itching he had developed. "Well, what is there to be nervous about?"

Roxas looked down at the floor. "I don't know. I just… look at her, and I can't stop looking, and I start getting all sweaty and nervous."

Realizing what the problem was, Axel laughed and covered his face. "Listen, Rox. You're a Nobody, and you shouldn't be feeling what you're feeling, but somehow you've managed to bypass the basic laws of Nobody nature, so you're feeling it anyway."

"What? What am I feeling?"

Axel patted his friend on the head. "You, my Keybearer, have a crush."

Roxas, of course, was supremely confused now. "What's a crush?"

_Okay, Axel, keep it simple, boil it down to what he's feeling. _"A crush, Roxas, is when you really, really, _really _like someone, even more than you like a best friend. You like them so much that you get nervous around them, because you're afraid that you'll mess up and ruin the whole thing."

"But I've been talking to Xion since I met her. Why would I be afraid that I'd mess up?"

"I can't answer that for you. Only you know exactly how you feel. I don't even understand how you're feeling at all."

Roxas looked around, as if looking for anyone who might be listening in. "I'm starting to think you're wrong about not being able to feel."

Axel whistled. "Whoa, don't go saying that in front of Saix or Xemnas, that's traitor talk right there."

"What? No it isn't!"

"Well, think about it. If we could feel without hearts, then why would we need to complete Kingdom Hearts at all?"

Roxas, surprisingly, answered immediately. "To feel more."

Axel smiled. "Nice save there." He looked around as Roxas had, then bent down. "And to be honest, after being around you two for this long, I'm starting to think the same thing. Now come on. Saix is waiting on us."

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Roxas, you'll be paired with Xion today."

On most days, this would be a pleasant surprise. For efficient heart collection, the Keybearers were generally split up. They usually only went together on the hardest missions (or when Saix was in a good mood, which he was almost never). Despite the difficulty, though, the two always came back saying it was worth it. Today, though, was different.

Roxas tugged on the collar of his coat. "Xion? Okay, that's good, I guess…"

Saix raised his eyebrow. "You'd usually be more exuberant. Is something wrong?"

"No, no, it's all good. I'm just, uh, worried about how hard it will be if we're together today."

Saix kept up the skeptical stare. "Don't be. It's basic heart collection. It's in Beast's Castle. The reason I'm sending you both is because they have a serious infestation today, and we want to grind as many hearts as we can from it before Beast steps in and starts destroying them all."

"Oh, that's good. Yeah, Beast won't be happy. We better get going."

Roxas, as you've probably noticed by now, was a terrible actor. But Saix had better things to do than inquire on the personal issues of the Keybearers. As long as they collected the hearts, he didn't care. He sighed. "Don't worry about the difficulty now. Just go prepare."

Roxas nodded and walked toward the Moogle to buy some potions. Somehow, Axel's talk of crushes had made him even _more _nervous. He liked Xion even more than a best friend? How was that even possible? Could he like her too much? Suddenly, the deep thoughts went over Roxas' mental capacity, and he got stuck on repeating her name in his head over and over.

He snapped out of it when he heard a voice. "Hey, kupo! Wake up. Are you going to pay for those, kupo?"

Roxas nodded and stuck the munny in front of the Moogle. The little shopkeeper snorted. "Thank you for your generosity, kupo, but you don't need to pay that much. I'll get your change…"

By the time the Moogle had reappeared from under the stall, change in hand, Roxas had spaced out again, stuck on the name just like the first time. Annoyed with the castle's most distractible customer, the Moogle just stuck the change in Roxas' pocket himself, secretly keeping some that he should have given. 'Subtraction errors' were always convenient.

Noticing the sensation of something being stuck in his pocket, Roxas gave a quick thanks and slumped on the couch, shaking his head. _If this is a crush, then I don't like crushes._

His head was spinning, and his heart was beating way too fast for the current was having a hard time thinking about anything other than Xion, and stuck the potions in his panel grid a little more haphazardly than he normally would have. What was going on?

Of course, the girl of his newfound obsession walking in right at that moment didn't help matters much.

Xion was running in, seeming frantic. She stood at attention, even throwing in a salute for good measure. "Sorry I'm late! The dusks messed with my clock."

Saix looked up at the clock. "Xion, it's nine o'clock, which is the scheduled wake-up time. I keep telling you, you don't have to wake up early just to please me. Collecting hearts is more important, and getting more sleep will affect your mission performance positively."

Xion nodded. "Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!"

"You're unusually jumpy today."

"Oh, I was just worried about waking up late."

"I just said…" Saix facepalmed. Talking to Xion sometimes was like talking to an abnormally anxious brick. Words of praise, or even tolerance, went in one ear and came out the other. "Never mind. You're with Roxas today. Heart collection in Beast's Castle. See me when you two are ready to leave."

Xion caught sight of Roxas and walked over. She did seem more cheerful than usual today, even with the 'late' wakeup. Maybe the three hours of extra sleep had done her good. Roxas noted all this because, just like yesterday at the clocktower, he couldn't stop staring at her. There was just something about her that held his gaze.

She sat down next to him. "Hi, Roxas."

Roxas finally managed to pull his gaze away, nervousness motivating him. "Hello."

Xion was doing that smile she always did when she was happier than usual. Somehow, it made things _even worse_. "I found something cool on a trip to Destiny Islands. I'll show you when we get to Beast's Castle."

Roxas nodded and kept looking down. His breathing was heavy. "Okay, sounds good."

Xion looked worried. "Roxas, are you okay?"

"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

"It's just that you seem a little… distracted."

"It's nothing, really." He was avoiding her gaze now, which made Xion very suspicious. But it was the only way Roxas could maintain some basic control over himself. He thought that if he looked her in the eyes, he'd start babbling randomly.

Luckily for him, Xion concluded that he was just a little off today, chalking it up to Roxas being Roxas. He forced himself to keep looking down at the ground while she finished arranging her panels. He got the feeling that today was going to be a long day for him.

0=0=0=0=0=0

When the Keybearers arrived at Beast's Castle, Xion wasted no time in making good on her promise. She tapped Roxas on the shoulder, forcing him to look at her, and raised her finger to say 'watch this'. She summoned her Keyblade, took off the little keychain with the three connected circles (causing it to look a little fuzzy), pulled out a black keychain with a crown and attached it to the weapon. Instantly, the Keyblade transformed into a massive black key, with a huge, blunt edge and a large blue gem in the middle of the handle.

Roxas, miraculously, actually found himself distracted by the sudden transformation. "Wow, Xion, that's awesome!"

Xion smiled, grabbing Roxas' attention again. "Thanks. I found it in a chest in a cave with a bunch of pictures on the walls. It has a word on the crown, look."

She held the keychain in front of him, letting him read it. There was small lettering on the crown, the same shade as the gem. It read _Oblivion._

"I think that's its name," she continued, admiring the new Keyblade in her hands. "It's kind of a gloomy name, though. I'm trying to come up with something better. Any ideas?"

It took Roxas a moment to register the question. "Well, I guess you could call it something cool, like maybe, um, Darklight."

Xion slapped his arm playfully, still smiling. "No! That's silly. Light isn't dark. They're opposites."

"It's kind of like your title. You know, Bright Shadow, wielder of Darklight."

Roxas was definitely rambling now, but Xion didn't seem to notice. "Hmm. Good point." She held Oblivion out in front of her, ready to christen it with its new name. "Darklight it is!"

Now he was blushing. "Um, maybe we should get to the mission."

Xion nodded. "Okay! I want to try this out!"

It didn't take long for her to get the chance. As soon as they stepped into the grand hall, a large group of Heartless fell upon them. Despite his thoughts of Xion, Roxas was still a trained fighter, and had no trouble paying attention this time. He batted at the various powerful Heartless, dispatching them as one would crush an ant under a boot.

In the occasional moments he caught sight of Xion, he was extremely impressed. She was using her new Keyblade to devastating effect. If Roxas was crushing the ants under his boot, then Xion was not only doing the same, but Darklight allowed her to _keep stomping_. It was a little scary to watch, which was why Roxas looked away and paid attention to the battle.

Not because she looked even better fighting, and if he looked too long, he might have gotten distracted by the crush. Nope, totally not. Not at all, in any way. That's what he kept telling himself, anyway.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Beast was never happy. Tonight, though, he was _especially _not happy.

Beast ran down the staircase, all-out rage pushing him away from the rose and down into the invasion. He roared, making the two humans in black cloaks drop their weapons in stunned shock. The Heartless had been stunned as well, and Beast flew into them, hacking and slashing madly at the enemies. Whatever Heartless had managed to survive the initial onslaught by the humans with giant keys were torn apart within ten to fifteen seconds of his arrival.

When the last of the vermin had been destroyed, Beast stood in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. He was shaking. Fighting off the creatures had been very taxing. Inevitably, he fell to the ground.

Belle ran down the stairs, mop in hand, the usual anthropomorphic clock and candles following close behind. She bent down, looking worried. "Beast! You have to stop doing this. It isn't good for you."

Beast grunted. "I'm only trying… to protect you…"

"I can handle myself, really." Belle looked up at the humans, who were watching while testing their ears to make sure they still worked. "Thank you two for your help. I think he got the last of them."

They nodded and left. Belle stroked Beast's fur soothingly as she tended to his latest wounds.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Xion shook her head like a wet dog. "That was… scary."

Roxas found that he could look at Xion again without being totally awestruck. "Yeah. Looks like we still managed to make the minimum quota anyway. Ready to head back?"

Xion looked back, lingering on the front steps as the doors finally finished closing. "That lady… I wonder why she looks after Beast. I mean, I'm sure he isn't as bad as he looks, but I don't know what I'd do."

Roxas shrugged. "Maybe she has a crush?"

Xion turned to him in confusion. "Huh?"

"Axel said that a crush is when you like someone even more than you like a best friend."

"Oh," Xion said, nodding. "Maybe." She stared at the castle a bit more before turning to Roxas again. "Can I ask a weird question?"

Roxas nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

"If I was a beast, would you take care of me?"

Roxas nodded emphatically. "Of course I would!" Then he scratched the back of his neck, the old habit ever so hard to break. "I think I might, uh, have a crush on you."

Xion just smiled.

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Axel, do you have a crush on us?"

"_What. Have. I. DONE."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

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**I think I can honestly say that's the fluffiest thing I've ever written. I could patent this story as a pillow, for crying out loud! :)**

**I swear, I warmed my own heart writing that last bit of RokuShi banter. I have never written a scene I am more proud of in my entire time here, and I think I'd be hard-pressed to find something I'm more proud of even outside my fanfic. It probably has something to do with how much I like the pairing. I really wish RokuShi was hinted more in canon, and I hope they find a way to throw it into Kingdom Hearts 3. They're just about as compatible as you can get, after all… :)**

**Yeah, I wrote this instead of Invader. I want a little time to sit on it so that I can bring you an appropriately epic climax and ending. Waiting a few extra days won't hurt anyone, right? :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: What advice would you give Roxas in his crush on Xion? Best answer gets a giftfic, as usual.**

**Thanks for reading, and here's to any special someone you may have when you tune in for more sea-salt stories!**


	9. Cold

**Got Dearly Beloved playing? I hope so, because it's time for another sea-salt story. Happy Valentine's Day, my friends! No, I'm not shorting you a story. I'll be typing my bum off again as soon as this gets posted to get the third story out to you. Consider it my Valentine to you. :)**

**So anyway, I look outside this morning and **_**holy pancake **_**Elsa came to visit! It's snowing like Antarctica out there. Apparently, it's even worse in New England, so a shoutout to the folks up there. This, combined with a cute RokuShi fanart I knew I had to reference in a story at some point, gave me plenty of inspiration. I hope you enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: This story includes a Frozen world, and as there is no such world in the game at press time, it is not covered by the initial disclaimer. Frozen belongs to Disney. I do not stand to profit from this work in any way. I think we all have an understanding that Arendelle will be a KH3 level? :)**

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**Cold**

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The Deserters were especially annoying today. There were a few reasons for this. The usual reason, of course, was in full effect—they ran around all over the place and were almost impossible to hit, and if you didn't keep hitting them once you got one, they'd run off again. There was also the fact that there were lots of them around today, in multiple groups for the first time in Roxas' memory.

But the main reason was that Arendelle was cold.

The Keybearers had been paired up again today. This was not because they had caught Saix in a good mood. Quite to the contrary, they had caught him in a _bad _mood, after Xion had accidentally dropped and broken a plate (the third time this happened) and Roxas had made himself look like an accomplice by helping the cleaning operation. The punishment was to tackle an incredibly infuriating mission in an unbelievably cold world.

Most of the time, the Keybearers could stand the cold much better than Axel. The black-on-black uniform probably helped a lot. Today, though, Arendelle was somehow colder than usual, and it was a frozen wasteland to begin with. It also had wind chill today. Even with a hood of some sort, wind chill is an insidious little thing. When you have a uniform with a hood _that always blows down in the wind, _it becomes absolutely evil. It makes one's ears feel like they're in a freezer.

For ninety percent of the population, including Roxas, this is an annoyance that is just bearable if it isn't too bad. For the more sensitive ten percent, Xion among them, it is as if nature herself hates your guts.

Roxas finally caught a moment to cast Cura on himself. In the moment it took him to do this, he caught sight of Xion Limit Breaking, flying around manically with the now-glowing-blue Keyblade before hovering in midair to deliver a blast of energy, four pillars of plasma or some other force destroying everything in their path. These attacks were effective against Giant Heartless. The Deserters never had a chance.

Xion dropped to the ground, landing as lightly as a cat, Keyblade straight up in the air. She was breathing heavily and gritting her teeth, as if she were only resting for a moment before leaping into battle again. When she realized that she had blasted the entire mountain clean of Heartless for at least a mile, she sighed and stood up. The Keyblade disappeared from her hands, and she stood silently.

Roxas walked over, judging each slow step. "Are you okay, Xion?"

She nodded as she pulled a potion out of her coat. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You don't need to use any potions. We've filled the mission gauge completely, you can check."

Xion checked the gauge on her wrist. "Oh. Good." She started walking down the mountain without him. "Come on, let's RTC. We can pick up the chests in a holo-mission. A _climate-controlled_ holo-mission…"

Roxas ran down the mountain after her. "Don't like the wind?"

She pouted and nodded. "How do you stand it? I feel like I'm sticking my head in a frozen lake."

He shrugged. "I guess I just don't feel it as badly as you do."

She snorted and smiled that little smile that always made Roxas smile back. "Then you're lucky. Let's just go."

The Keybearers went back to town to the RTC point. Along the way, Roxas couldn't help but notice the wind, and now it was getting on his nerves as well. Was he getting that from her? It wouldn't have been unprecedented. Xion had been giving him lots of personality traits lately. He had been feeling a lot closer to Xion in general since Beast's Castle. It felt odd, but in a good way.

Roxas pushed these musings out of his mind as they reached the dark alleyway of the RTC point. He reached out his hand and tried to open a dark corridor back to the castle.

Tried to, anyway. Points for the effort.

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Vexen, these orders come from Lord Xemnas himself. We need a way to shut down dark corridor capacity for certain members, in case of an attempt at an overthrow of Organization leadership. I am assigning you the task of building a machine that can do such a thing. You may use any means you have at your disposal. Get it done and report back to me."

These were the exact words out of Saix's lips. Note the distinct lack of wording excluding the sea-salt trio as 'means at disposal', requiring the notification of the selected guinea pig beforehand and excluding said guinea pig from performing the test during a mission in the coldest of all of the worlds. Among the many other brilliant things he had done, Even had dabbled in law school at one point.

Vexen, ever the scheming weasel, had jumped at the chance to do actual useful science while messing with the Keybearers in the process. He had been especially infuriated with those two lately. They were destroying his credibility with their little even-better-than-best-friends thing. Roxas was one thing. As the Organization scientist, Vexen had been informed of Roxas' true origins, and understood that they made him different, more capable of real emotion. But Xion… the Replica hadn't been supposed to feel anything at all. It was supposed to be like a robot, doing the bidding of Xemnas without question and without mercy. That was how she was when she came about. Then Axel and his little brat had stepped in and turned her into a girly girl who wouldn't kill anything that wasn't a Heartless. He knew that wouldn't have happened if he had watched her that first day. If she had grown emotions at all, she would have inherited his genius.

Well, it was too late now, so he went for the next best thing—breaking her spirit and getting her back to factory condition. This was easier said than done. Her friends acted as a sort of safety net, catching her if she started to fall into despair. And this whole thing with _Nobodies _apparently feeling what could be interpreted as _love _was getting in the way even more. Vexen had dubbed it the 'Keybearer Bonding Problem', and fixing it was his top priority. Never mind that staying in the good graces of the two was his best shot at a heart. They were not following the rules. They were meant to be like computers, and computers always followed the rules.

Vexen had decided that forcing them into a survival situation would break them up fairly quickly. If they thought they were so special with their lovey-dovey stuff, they could wait and see how they thought of each other when there was only enough food left in the rations for one person, and they were both starving. It was the perfect plan.

However, in his calculations, Vexen had forgotten to account for two things. First was the fury of Axel, as usual—for all his scientific knowledge, Vexen just couldn't take a hint. Second was the ingenuity of two humans lost in a strange place.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Xion gripped Roxas' arm way too hard. "What's going on, Roxas?"

Roxas sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know. The best thing to do is wait for Axel to come and rescue us."

Xion gripped even tighter. "What? Axel's got recon! With _Demyx! _Who knows how long he'll be gone?"

Roxas held Xion's shoulder with a gentle touch, trying to do it the way Axel did it. "We'll be fine. We're in a city. If it gets too cold, we can just go inside, remember?"

She blinked. "I didn't think of that…" A gust of wind blew in her face, making her screech in surprise for a second. "Yeah, let's do that. Like, right now."

Unfortunately, 'going inside' was easier said than done. All the inns were filled up, and wouldn't even let them stay in the lobby unless they paid way more than they had. All the businesses had closed for the night. All the other doors in town were locked, and whenever someone came to the door, they were not friendly or sympathetic.

Roxas looked up at the man standing over him. "Hey, we're not even going to stay a whole night. We just need a few hours. Can you please let us in to warm up a bit?"

The man growled. "I'm not letting a couple of street kids into my house! Go back to the hole you came from!" With that, the jerk slammed the door in their faces.

Roxas glanced at Xion. After so long in the cold, being turned away at every building, she seemed on the verge of crying. Roxas looked back at the door and, with no remorse whatsoever, summoned his Keyblade, broke the man's window and stormed off. Xion ran after him, but not before doing the same to the other window.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Things at the Castle That Never Was were more or less typical, except for something very notable. It was notable enough to make Saix look up from his paperwork to check the time ever few minutes. Combined with his Stupidity Sense blaring like a siren, it was making him feel some shadow of _worry _for once in his life. The Keybearers were not back yet.

Saix heard the noise of a dark corridor and turned, but was disappointed when it was just Axel and Demyx returning from their mission. Axel walked over and sat down next to Saix. "Well, Demyx wasn't much help, so I just gave him my notes and told him to make a proper report. That's why it will only be fifteen words or so the first time."

Saix didn't even look up. "That will only happen if Demyx thinks he can get away with it, which I promise you he won't."

"Exactly why I'm making him do it." Axel looked around. "Are Roxas and Xion back yet?"

"No. I'm just as concerned as you are. They may not have taken my punishment well."

"You think? You punished them for an accident, Sai. That's more than a little harsh. But hey—feeling bad about it is something new for you. You're getting good at the whole 'not-being-a-jerk' thing."

Saix did the usual non-committal snort. "I feel no regret. I'm merely wondering if their reaction is the cause of the delay."

Axel considered this for a moment. "I don't think so. They've handled tougher punishment missions without running away or anything. They're probably just doing extra-credit stuff like chests."

"Perhaps." Saix concentrated. Something was nagging at him. Something about Vexen… "Wait."

"What is it?"

Saix stood up and walked toward Vexen's lab. "Come with me. Bring your chakrams."

0=0=0=0=0=0

The Keybearers stood in the forest and breathed deeply. Roxas wiped his brow. "Okay. Maybe breaking his windows wasn't a smart idea."

Xion looked back. "Yeah, getting all the guards running after us was a bad plan." She looked at Roxas and smiled. "He still deserved it, though."

Roxas grinned. "Definitely. Maybe he'll think twice next time before chasing off a couple 'street kids'." He took in his surroundings. "Now what?"

Xion's smile vanished, and her eyes went wide. "Oh, no. Can you open a dark corridor yet?"

Roxas concentrated and threw his hand out. A whole lot of nothing happened. It looked absolutely pathetic. "…Nope."

"Oh, no, we're going to be here when night falls, the sun's already almost gone, we'll get lost in the dark…"

"Xion. We control light. We're not going to get lost in the dark, because _we can_ _glow in the dark_."

Xion blinked again, her rising panic grinding to a halt. "Oh, right."

Immediately, both Keybearers started glowing with light. They didn't use this power often—it just wasn't that useful most of the time. You'd think shadow creatures would hate light, but there you go. In this case, though, it meant the difference between life and death, and they thanked the worlds for it.

Roxas glanced at the now-luminous Xion. She was now even more beautiful, the white light making her black hair and cloak look a dark silver. He was completely awestruck for a moment, mesmerized by her, but then he remembered his current situation and walked toward the mountain, gesturing to her. "Bring some sticks. We'll find a cave and start a fire."

"We didn't bring any Fire spells."

"Which is why we're bringing the sticks…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Permission to dusk Number IV has been denied to me, Axel."

The Flurry of Dancing Flames was showing off his worthiness of the title. Most of the lab was on fire, sending no-doubt-nasty fumes into the air. In addition, he was pinning Vexen to the wall and punching him over and over. It made Larxene look tame.

Axel stopped punching for a moment. "Hear that, Vex? I get to beat your face in _again _when I get back! Now _tell me where they are!"_

Vexen was whimpering. "I don't know! They're in Arendelle, that's all I know!"

Axel threw Vexen to the ground and stood over him. The look on his face was the scariest he had ever had up to that point, and that's saying something. "Listen here. You are going to come with me to Arendelle. We're going to find the Keybearers. Then you will explain why they can't open dark corridors, and why they won't be able to go on missions with each other if you don't fix it. Then you will go home and fix it while we three decide what to do with you. The alternative is pain, followed by the release of _a certain video_. _Understood?"_

"Yes!" Vexen sprung up and opened the dark corridor to Arendelle himself. "It's night there. We don't have much time. Come on!"

Saix shook his head in exasperation as he followed the two mortal enemies through.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Finding a cave had been easy enough. Staying in there even protected them from the wind chill. The fire was a little harder.

Roxas was rubbing two sticks together as fast as he could manage. That was how they did it on TV, so it was worth a shot. But it was rather ineffective so far—he was just wearing down the sticks while muttering words he had learned from Xigbar. The friction he was causing in his frustration might have started the fire, had it not been so cold.

When the sticks broke from being whittled down to the core, Roxas threw them against the wall and pulled out two more from the pile, which was now down to four. It was freezing cold now. His black cloak kept him from losing too much heat, but things were still looking pretty bad for the Keybearers. The wind had picked up outside, meaning they couldn't leave unless they wanted to try navigating through the storm, which they certainly didn't. They were also both tired and hungrier than they had ever been.

Xion wailed and put her head on Roxas' shoulder. "When is Axel coming?"

Roxas sighed as he kept rubbing. "I don't know."

She was sobbing into his arm, sniffling loudly. "I just want to sleep, but the ground is so cold and hard, and it's so cold… I just want to go home…"

Roxas was usually horrible at comforting people. It was just above his life experience. But when he looked at Xion, feeling her head bob up and down as her tears streaked down his arm, a basic human instinct was triggered in him. Without thinking, he pulled off his Organization coat, revealing his black-and-white checkerboard shirt underneath, and threw it over her. She threw one side back, putting them both underneath.

The Keybearers sat there together. Xion was still crying, but it wasn't as bad now. Roxas felt much colder now, but as long as Xion was safe and warm, he didn't care one bit. He thought about how the others treated her. Axel treated her like a real person, and she was growing on Saix, but everyone else treated her like an object, a tool. He didn't know why. He also didn't know why they kept saying she was a puppet. _Blast them, _he thought to himself. _Blast them all. Blast this whole Organization. Treating Xion like that. Who do they think they are? Blast them all…_

He noticed that Xion had stopped crying. She had fallen asleep. He delicately put her head in his lap, to make sure she wasn't uncomfortable, and went back to rubbing the sticks.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Axel pointed at one of the caves and called. "Look! There's light over there! It's too white to be fire! I think it's them!"

Without continuing, Axel ran up the mountain, the other two Nobodies trailing close behind. He ran in, almost tripped on a rock, recovered and caught sight of Roxas and Xion. He might have found it cute, if relief wasn't spreading over him with more power. He ran over and bent down. "Rox! Xi! I thought—"

Roxas put a finger to his lips and pointed at Xion. She was sleeping, making that little cute snore. "It's been a rough night for her," he whispered.

Axel nodded and patted her head. When Saix and Vexen came in, he raised his hand, signaling them to stay quiet. Then he turned back to Roxas. "Come on. Let's go put her in her real bed."

0=0=0=0=0=0

_Ca-click!_

"_Where's the lawrencium? Why aren't you reacting?"_

Almost everyone burst out laughing at the television, which had been rolled in from Axel's room into the Grey Room. Even Saix managed a snort. Axel was grinning from ear to ear, finding Vexen hitting his head with the throw pillow to be far more humorous.

What really got on Vexen's nerves was not the video or Axel, however. It was the sight of the Keybearers, sitting on the floor together while looking up at the television, laughing with their arms draped around each other's shoulders.

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

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**So cute and fluffy and heartwarming and… what the—HIDEBU! *explodes* :)**

**Man, my RokuShi stories are getting sweeter than chocolate ice cream with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles. Roxas and Xion are the cutest things in KH, hands down, no competitors. Don't believe me? I dare you to put the first two volumes of the manga next to each other with the covers facing outward, think about those two as a couple and not explode in happiness. That means you too, Square. This must be in KH3, or else I will go to Japan myself and hold the manga out in front of you and force you to make a sequel with it. You think I'm joking, clearly you haven't seen me react to some of the RokuShi stuff I've seen… :)**

**Note: The last scene will make more sense if you've read What You Make Me Feel. It's cute too, promise. :)**

**Credit where credit is due: The scene in the cave was inspired by the previously mentioned fanart, which depicts Roxas throwing his Organization cloak up while Xion lays her head on his arm. I don't remember the name of the artist, sadly, but whoever made it is really awesome. I made it my iPod wallpaper, it was so cute. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Here, I'll do something a little different. I hereby give you permission to write a RokuShi fic set in the Reluctant Father universe. You are to write it and send it to me via PM. Do that, and I'll give you **_**two **_**giftfics. Because I'm awesome, you know? :)**

**Happy Valentine's Day! Be sure to bring him or her when you read the next sea-salt story! **


	10. Weird

**I hope you're nice and comfy, because it's time for another sea-salt story. So this is the real Valentine's Day special, a day late. Oh, well. Cute either way. :) Anyway, this is the last story in my RokuShi trilogy, though I will certainly be writing more at some point. I loved RokuShi before, but after writing it, I think it's now my OTP. Fluffy cuteness for the win! :D**

**This one marks two major milestones—Sea-Salt Stories will be over twenty thousand words long, and I will have reached ten chapters! *champagne, fireworks, etc* I would like to thank you, my readers, for the continued support and praise. I would also like to thank Raberba Girl for getting me back into writing and Kingdom Hearts. And of course, a very special thank-you to the people of Disney and Square Enix, for creating the RPG that defined my childhood gaming and has come back to me years later. Look at all of this, guys, and know that I couldn't have done any of it without you.**

**And now, on with the show!**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Weird**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone who's weirdness is compatible with ours we join up and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."_

_-Dr. Seuss_

"Rox, what are you doing?"

Roxas didn't even look up from the sketchbook he had bought in Twilight Town after the usual ice cream. "Drawing."

Axel's head jumped back a bit. "Really? You've never drawn anything in your life."

"Doesn't mean I can't start."

Axel walked over to the bed and sat down. "And what are you drawing, my Keybearer?"

"Xion."

Axel snorted. Roxas had started sitting next to Xion at the clocktower, and Axel had caught them holding hands once. This was all stuff a Nobody shouldn't have been capable of. It might have been more impressive to him, if he hadn't been around the two for so long. He was used to un-Nobody-like displays of emotion by now. Still, if this was what he thought it was, it would make him seriously question what Xemnas kept telling them about completing Kingdom Hearts.

He glanced at the drawing. It was surrounded by practice drawings, of simple shapes and a few inanimate objects. This was notable because the drawing itself was very impressive for a first-timer. The drawing was a picture of Xion just standing there with a smile on her face, looking to the right at something. Roxas had drawn the Organization coat perfectly, the feet were two cute triangles and the head even cuter, especially the smile. To top it off, she was holding a stick of sea-salt ice cream in her left hand, which Roxas had actually colored with a blue pen. He had just started drawing himself next to her, holding hands—he had put a lot of detail into the hands doing the holding.

Axel smiled and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Rox, I didn't know you had it in you. This is amazing. You should show it to Xion when you're done."

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to."

Axel thought of something. "Actually, don't show her tonight."

"Huh? Why not?"

"There is a day specifically set aside for giving stuff to people you like the way you like Xion. It's called Valentine's Day, and it's tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah. I heard some kids in Twilight Town talking about it. I figured it out by listening to them."

Axel blinked, then beamed. "You get smarter by the day, Rox. It makes me proud."

"Yeah. I was thinking of giving her something else, too. Do you know anything she would like?"

Axel's grin grew even bigger. "Roxas, I am going to help you do something you've been needing to do since the day you started getting nervous around her. It will involve seashells, string, one of Zexion's books, two neddles, lots of sticky notes and Saix's good graces. And it starts with me elaborating on an explanation I gave a while back…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas held the sea-salt blue seashell in his hands, inspecting it carefully. "This one should work. Give me the bag."

Axel opened the bag, and the seashell dropped in, clinking and with the others as it landed. Roxas had looked at each one with the eye of a hawk, and they were only the most beautiful on the long stretch of beach around Destiny Islands. He wanted this to be special, and unusual perfectionism was very evident.

When Roxas recognized the first seashell he had rejected, he sighed. "That's the last of them." Then he blinked and turned to Axel. "Why are we doing this at midnight again?"

"Because Xion is asleep by then, and we want it to be a surprise."

"Oh, right."

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Zexion, do you still have _Knitting for Nobodies?"_

Zexion looked Axel in the eye, eyebrow raised. After a minute, he sighed and went back to his book. "Yes. You know where they are."

Roxas pulled the book off the shelf. "Who wrote all these, anyway?"

Zexion didn't look up from the book again. "Someone very wise and talented with far too much free time. Now get out."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas gawked as Axel attached the chains to the newly stitched uniform. "You could have told me you were good at knitting too! I would have saved a few hours."

Axel shook his head. "It makes it more special if you do it yourself, Roxas. Now go make that necklace."

0=0=0=0=0=0

That last part was the real reason Axel had started so early. He had a feeling this would take a while.

Saix had just started on paperwork when Axel came in and sat in the chair across from him. He didn't even stop writing. "Impostor, you forgot to do your research. Axel wouldn't wake up this early if I personally went to his room and threatened him with my claymore."

"He would if he needed your help, Isa."

"Pulling that again?" Saix sighed, still not stopping with the paperwork. "What did I do this time, Lea?"

"Nothing. I just said I need your help. I need you to send Xion on a special mission to Twilight Town."

"And why would I alter the mission schedule to accommodate your whims?"

"Because Roxas has something very important to do, and it involves Xion."

Saix finally threw his pencil on the table and looked up. "If this is about what I think it's about, then you're asking me to believe the impossible. Lea, I don't care how much they've been holding each other and talking to each other and doing all manner of strange things around each other. They're still Nobodies, just like you and me. Therefore, they are not capable of emotion. This is not speculation—it is fact, set in stone. It is the reason we continue to pursue Kingdom Hearts."

"Isa, listen. I know we can't feel. I don't feel a thing right now, not really, just like always. But just because we can't doesn't mean they can't, either. They're weird, Isa. They're weird, and that what makes them special."

Saix stayed silent for a moment, then went back to his paperwork. "That would be a great line in a movie, but in real life, it has no effect on me whatsoever. I don't approve of their… relationship, Lea. They're kidding themselves. I'm not going to encourage them."

Axel sighed and closed his eyes. "…Any way I could sweeten the deal?"

"By taking over the night shift from me for one week, and we all know that won't—"

"It's done."

Saix looked up again. "You have no idea how hard my job is, do you?"

"I don't care how hard it is. I want today to be the day of the Keybearers."

Saix stared for a long moment. "…I'll think about it."

0=0=0=0=0=0

When Xion woke up that morning, she knew that today was going to be a good day. She didn't know how she knew—she just _did. _She got that feeling from time to time, and it was usually accurate. It was a wonderful feeling.

Xion put on her uniform and walked to the Grey Room, practically skipping. When Demyx passed by in the hallway, she gave him a high-five, which took him by surprise and hit him in the face by accident. Xion cringed. "Sorry, Demyx."

Demyx rubbed his face. "Oh, it's all right. I'll live. Feeling good today, girl?"

Xion giggled. "Yeah. And you don't have to call me that. I'm not mad about you thinking I'm a boy anymore."

Demyx smiled and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, but Axel might be!"

"Good point!" Xion skipped off, leaving Demyx to wonder whether Axel really was watching his every move.

Xion entered the Grey Room and stood at attention in front of Saix, throwing in the usual cheerful salute. It took Saix a minute to notice her—he seemed to scrawling some notes on his clipboard. Xion waited patiently, still smiling. She wondered what was giving her the good feeling. She couldn't stop thinking it had something to do with Roxas, but he had apparently already left. Maybe it was her new sleeping schedule.

Saix looked down at her. His face seemed just a little more resigned than usual. He sighed before speaking. "Xion, you have a… special mission in Twilight Town today. There have been reports of mysterious post-it notes being left around town. You are to investigate."

Xion opened the dark corridor herself. "Yes, sir!"

As she left, Saix shook his head. "Number VIII," he muttered to himself. "I _will_ find a way to punish you for making me sentimental…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas looked down from the clocktower at the town below, using binoculars to search for Xion. "Did you bring the ice cream?"

Axel held up the ice cooler. "No, I'm just using this for weightlifting. Got to keep up those muscles, you know…"

Roxas smiled and snuck an ice cream bar while Axel was still distracted with flexing his muscles (which weren't exactly impressive—Axel had long, spindly arms, and made up for it with fire and chakrams). "This is going to be great."

Axel nodded. "Yeah, it will be. I'll be on the other side of the clocktower."

"What? Why?"

Axel just grinned. "Because when the kids do something like this, the grown-ups need to stay out of the way."

As Axel dark corridored down to the station, Roxas went back to searching. He noticed a black shimmering at the usual entry point, and zoomed in all the way.

There she was. Somehow, she looked even more beautiful than usual.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_XIV. Get ice cream that tastes of the sea. Tell the lady you've got someone to talk to, and that you need help finding him. –RX_

Well, it was probably worth a shot.

Xion went to the stand and put the munny on the counter. "Two sea-salt ice cream bars, please."

The old woman in the stand smiled. "Two? Have a Valentine?"

Xion wondered what a Valentine was, but decided to ask Axel after the mission. "I have someone to talk to. Can you help me find him?"

Recognizing the apparent code phrase, the woman took two ice cream sticks and stuck a sticky note on one of them before handing them to Xion. "I'll give you half off. Two for the price of one. It's the Valentines special."

While she still wasn't quite sure what Valentine's was, she thanked the woman and took the ice cream. She took the sticky note and read.

_XIV. Good job. Now, go to Pence and remind him about that hood he promised. Tell him the same thing you told the lady. Oh—and try not to throw anything at him this time. –RX_

Xion laughed. The good thing about her temper was that it cooled off fairly quickly, so she wasn't mad at Pence anymore. She figured he probably didn't remember her fondly, though.

She caught Pence walking down the street, all alone and looking a little down on himself. She waved. "Pence!"

The boy froze and turned around very slowly. "Xion… hi there…"

"Don't worry! I'm sorry I threw things at you. I'm not mad anymore. I just came for the hood. I need to talk to someone."

Pence fumbled with the pack he was carrying. "Oh, yeah, hold on…" He pulled out a large, wool coat. It looked a lot like the Organization uniform, but it was half blue and half white, and the cotton-ball 'chains' had small plastic bobs on the ends, painted with pictures of sea-salt ice cream. "Here. The hood will stay up. Oh, and take the sticky note, too." Dropping the thing in Xion's hands, he ran off without another word.

Xion decided instantly that she liked it. She read the note.

_XIV. I'm assuming that went well. Now come to the clocktower. Look for the one with blond hair. –RX_

The whole thing finally connected in her brain, and she beamed.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas was pacing nervously. He had lost sight of Xion behind the buildings, and she was probably almost ready to come to the clocktower. He wondered if his hair looked right, something he had never thought about before. He also wondered if he smelled, even though Axel had taught him what deodorant was and he had applied a little too much of it beforehand.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. _I've made everything perfect, _he told himself. _I've got this._

He opened his eyes just in time to see the girl that had invaded his dreams and plastered herself all over them step out onto the clocktower. When she saw him, she lit up in delight. "Roxas!"

Roxas smiled back. "Xion."

Xion ran over and gave him a hug, making Roxas' stomach feel like it was doing a flip. "You did all this for me?"

"Yeah. I kind of did. I also made the coat."

"Wow! Thanks, this thing is amazing!"

Roxas reached into his coat and pulled out the drawing and seashell necklace. "I also made you these."

Xion took the necklace and put it around her neck. "This is beautiful."

"I made sure every shell was perfect."

She looked at the drawing for a long moment, smiling the whole time. "Wow, you're good at drawing!"

"It's a talent I never knew I had. I started drawing because of you."

Xion put the drawing in her coat and hugged Roxas again. "I can't believe you did all this just for me. Why?"

Roxas took one last deep breath. "Remember what Axel said about love a while back?"

Xion looked him in the eyes, her own eyes and smile going wide. "You mean…"

"Xion… I think I love you."

As the two Keybearers hugged each other even harder, Axel stood back and smiled. _I'm going to sound like an old man… ah, forget it. They grow up so fast._

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

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**I feel a great disturbance in the fluffy, like a thousand Days fans cried out in sheer bliss and then suddenly fainted… :)**

**Okay, scratch what said before, Roxas confessing his true love to Xion is the fluffiest thing I have ever written in my entire life. I got one of those memory foam things for my bed recently, and I think it's affecting my fanfic. I mean, I know I have to finish Invader, but I have the urge to write more RokuShi and be even cuter… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. I would like to note that the previous giftfic offer will remain open until I start getting so much stuff that I can't keep up. 47 RokuShi fics, out of 72.2 thousand? **_**Shameful display! **_**Let's fix this, people! *awaits stream of RokuShi* :)**

**Thanks for reading, and please, for your safety, be sure to reset your cute-o-meter before reading the next sea-salt story!**


	11. Addiction

**Yes, it is time once again for a sea-salt story. This one was suggested by LunaEtSidera, in addition to a longer one I'm writing as her/his giftfic, and while the longer one is technically her giftfic, this one just sounded like far too much fun to resist. :) Continuity is any time after Invader.**

**A quick shoutout to v.t.7, who took me up on my giftfic offer and wrote a story called Daddy Axel. It involves baby Roxas and Xion. **_**Baby Roxas and Xion. **_**This should be all the encouragement you need to hop over to her profile and check it out. :)**

**Now then, time for the tale. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Addiction**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Axel, where are you going?"

Axel turned to Saix, who had looked up from a stack of paperwork on the coffee table. "I'm going to eat ice cream with Rox and Xi, like always."

"Have you finished your report yet?"

Axel looked rather sheepish. "Uh… I will when I get back, promise."

Saix leveled his patented deadpan stare at him. "At this rate, you'll make them sick."

"Sai, we usually only eat two sticks each per day. Five is our maximum, and that's for special occasions.

"That's still too much sugar. I think you have an addiction, and you're passing it on."

Axel raised his arms in a surrender position. "Addiction? Where'd that come from?"

Saix would have counted off on his fingers, if he was that theatrical."You eat large amounts of sea-salt ice cream every day. It is your main social activity with the Keybearers. You skip work to do it. You avoid interaction with the other members to do it."

"To be fair, the other members avoid interaction with _me._"

"And you like it that way. I reluctantly allowed it before, but now that it's interfering with work, I must take notice."

Axel put on his most persuasive voice. "Come on, Sai. It's ice cream, not drugs. It's harmless."

"So you're saying you are addicted, and you wouldn't be able to go without it for a few days?"

Axel facepalmed. "Fine, I won't eat it for a few days, just to prove it's not an addiction. Seesh."

"Not just you. I want the Keybearers to go without, too."

"What? They love it."

"Correction. They love whatever Amano Brand puts in those things. And because they have an ice cream stand in Twilight Town, I would prefer if you met in your room for the duration."

Axel threw his arms in the air. "That's just petty! You don't trust us or something?"

Saix held up an envelope, marked with the word _Taxes. _"Would you prefer that I released some of your troll fanfiction?"

Axel just stared blankly at the envelope.

"What? You play that game, I play it too. This is known as mutual deterrence."

"You release those abominations, I release that video of you eating this 'addiction' of mine."

"You catch on quickly. Here's the thing, though. I don't really care. My reputation can be regained with a few Infernal Engines."

Axel slumped on the couch. "This is cruel, Sai. This is just cruel."

"So you are addicted, and perceive the removal of your object of addiction to be 'cruel'?"

Axel put his head in his hands. "Fine. Three days, starting tomorrow."

Saix looked back at his paperwork. "Sounds like an agreement. Good luck, Axel. I have the feeling that you'll need all the luck you can get…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

_DAY ONE_

"What?!"

"Why didn't you tell us yesterday?"

Axel rubbed his temple, trying to resist the puppy dog eyes of the Keybearers standing in front of him in the hallway. "I did tell you. If I'm correct, you were chatting away with each other and barely acknowledging me. I believe your exact words were 'that's great, Axel'."

Roxas cringed and did the usual neck-rub. "Sorry…"

"Consider this your punishment for snubbing me. Listen next time, all right? I know you like each other, but you've got a second friend."

Both Keybearers nodded in shame. Xion shook her head. "No ice cream and no clocktower. What are we going to do?"

Axel smiled. "Hey, we can find something else to do in the evenings. Get your mission reports done, then we'll play some video games. Sound good?"

They both perked up. "Okay!" they said in unison. They ran off to fill out their mission reports.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Xion stared up at the ceiling. It was two in the morning now. At first, she thought the lack of sleep was from the competitive round of Sugar Rush, but she soon realized that something else was going on.

Xion liked the usual clocktower meeting even more than her companions, which is saying something. It was a small part of every day she knew was going to happen, and it made that part of the day just a little easier to manage. So when it turned out that it _wasn't _happening, her reaction had been subdued only by the knowledge of video games coming up. But with that over, she was completely in the dark about what would happen next. She would have to go two days without knowing what would happen in the evening. For Xion, this was maddening.

She soon found herself sitting up on the edge of the bed, Thomas the Elephant and Bird the Penguin to her right, feet held up above the ground, _pretending _she was at the clocktower eating ice cream. She was coming up with the whole conversation they'd be having, with Thomas and Bird playing Roxas and Axel, respectively. She was holding a clenched fist under her mouth, biting the air as if ice cream was in its place—she could actually taste it, just a little. Imaginary sea-salt ice cream did have one advantage over real sea-salt ice cream—it was infinite, and never gave her a stomach ache if she ate too much.

It took her a bit to recognize what was happening. She closed her eyes and slumped on the bed. "I'm going insane over this, aren't I?" she whispered to herself. "Axel said Vexen's insane. I don't want to be Vexen…"

When she realized that only her imaginary version of Axel had said that, she rolled over and slammed her head on the pillow repeatedly. "Yeah, I'm going insane. I can't believe it, I'm going insane…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

_DAY TWO_

Saix was quite surprised to find that the shared typewriter of Organization XIII was in use. Most days, Saix was the only one who used it. Heck, Luxord had his own typewriter, which he didn't have to share. And for _Xion _to use it was just plain crazy, especially at six in the morning.

He stared at the girl quietly, not interrupting. She noted his presence, but didn't react. After a minute, she pulled out the paper and went over to Saix, handing it to him. He took it and read as she walked off without another word.

_Dear Saix,_

_It is my firm belief that taking away our ice cream is completely unfair and uncalled for. We didn't do anything wrong to deserve it. I demand that you give us our ice cream back._

_Sincerely,_

_Xion  
Number XIV  
The Bright Shadow_

Saix actually found the overly formal tone of the letter quite amusing. It was like some of the angry letters to the editor he had read in the newspaper. Still, Organization XIII had no complaint box, and he wasn't about to let one develop. He sat down and typed something himself. When he went to Xion's door, he found it was locked, so he just nailed it to the door. Yes, nailed it. He wanted to get her attention.

_Xion,_

_No._

_Sincerely,_

_Saix  
Number VII  
The Luna Diviner_

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas stopped at the door marked XIV. Xion was standing in the doorway, staring at a piece of paper murderously. Roxas took a few steps backward—just in case—and scratched the back of his neck. "Hey, you okay, Xion?"

"I tried to get Saix to give us back our ice cream. This was his response." She handed him the paper.

Roxas read the note. "Oh. And you're mad about this?"

"Thanks for saving me, Captain Obvious."

Roxas took a few more steps back—Xion being sarcastic was generally bad. "Should I… talk to you later, or something?"

"Good idea."

Roxas ran off. He wasn't happy about the lack of ice cream, either, but Xion had several traits that turned her into the perfect storm in such a situation. First, her temper, while subdued since her last big eruption, could still be pretty scary when it came out. Second, she was good at coming up with short-term 'solutions' to problems which she almost always regretted later. Third, she was cunning and determined, which was great most of the time, but worked too well with her zany 'solutions'.

Roxas' danger sense was not nearly as well-honed as the other members, but the mere task of _staying alive _in the Castle That Never Was necessitated that he develop a basic awareness of the risks of being around Organization XIII. He had also been around Xion long enough to understand how she would react in various situations, including this one. Thus, he finally understood how Saix felt when he said that he just 'knew' it was going to be a long day.

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Xi, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

Every poorly thought-out plan in Xion's short life had begun with these words. This time was no different. She was sitting in her room, drawing something on a big piece of paper (rather than doing the math worksheet Axel had assigned that day). Thomas and Bird had been placed on the paper. She was wearing a fake general's cap, probably 'borrowed' from Demyx's silly hat collection. She also had also raided Zexion's library for _Strategic Thinking for Nobodies _and, oddly, several strategy guides for strategy video games.

Axel stared blankly at the scene. "Xion. Number XIV of Organization XIII. Bright Shadow. What the _fudge _are you doing right now?"

"Nothing," she repeated.

"Don't give me that. You look like you're planning something."

"I'm not doing anything."

"You are blatantly lying to me."

"No, I'm not. I'm really not doing anything."

"Yes. At this very second in time, you are literally just sitting there, staring at a half-drawn map, two stuffed animals and a stack of books while wearing one of Demyx's stupid hats. However, as soon as I close this door, you will probably be doing something, so it's still lying."

Xion threw her cap on the table and gave Axel a look he would normally expect from Saix. "Do you want the ice cream back or not?"

Axel facepalmed hard. "Xion, we talked about this. The whole point is to prove to Saix that we're not addicted to sea-salt ice cream. This…" He gestured at the floor-turned-command-center. "…Is not helping."

Xion stood up walked up to Axel with her best puppy eyes turned on. "I had a really hard time sleeping last night, Axel. I was really tired all day. I only managed to fill the mission gauge because I knew not filling it wasn't an option. I can't handle another night like that."

Axel facepalmed again, this time with both hands. "Oh my gosh, you _are _addicted." He put his hands on Xion's shoulders. "Xi, it's only one more day after this. It'll be over before you know it. I know you're upset, but you can handle it, all right?"

"But what about tonight?"

"If you didn't sleep well yesterday, you'll be out cold tonight. Just think about something else. You'll be fine, I promise."

0=0=0=0=0=0

_DAY THREE_

Xion was staring at the wall, trying not to give into the temptation to look at the clock. Her eyes were as big as plates, and had Axel been there to see them, they would have given actual puppies a run for their money. Every time she closed her eyes, something related to ice cream appeared in her mind. Thinking about video games? The sword wielded by the character was a giant ice cream stick. Thinking about work? The Heartless dropped ice cream instead of munny, which her mind avatar gladly scooped up and almost inhaled. Counting sheep? They were all sea-salt blue.

She finally caved in and rolled over to look at the clock. 4:59 AM. She moaned and covered her head with her pillow. "I don't care what Axel says anymore," she said through clenched teeth. "I can't handle a third night of this."

She pulled herself up off the bed and walked to Roxas' room. Roxas was asleep. She envied him.

She shook him without thinking. "Roxas."

Roxas stirred. "Mggh… Xion… don't do this…"

"Help me and I promise I'll never do it again, ever."

"Mpph… fine…" Roxas propped himself up on one arm and looked at Xion with bleary eyes. "If this is what I think it's about…"

"It is."

Roxas was just about to fall back down on the pillow when Xion grabbed his hair, holding him—actually genuinely terrifying. They both cringed. "Sorry," Xion said sheepishly. "I just can't have another sleepless night."

"Oh, Xion…" Roxas rubbed his eyes. "I love you, but you drive me nuts sometimes."

"Why does that sound like it could come out of Axel?"

"Because I'm picking up his habits. That's what Luxord says, anyway. Next, I'm going to be saying 'got it memorized' all the time."

Xion smiled slightly. "That'd be something I'd like to see. Come on. We've got an hour."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas was really too tired to know what was going on. He was just following Xion's lead, which he was pretty sure was a bad idea, but it was better than wandering around aimlessly. Or, considering that they were suddenly in Twilight Town, maybe not.

The sea-salt trio had never visited Twilight Town at night. Sometimes, if they stayed extra-long at the clocktower, they could catch the first signs of a starry night, but that was about it. Now, staring up at the stars, Roxas realized what they had been missing out on.

"Pretty night," he noted, ever obvious.

"Yeah. We'll have to come back some time." Xion stood in front of the ice cream stand. The shutters were down. "Oh. I didn't know it closed."

"I think people only eat ice cream during the day."

Xion summoned her Keyblade and pointed it at the lock holding the shutter in place. A beam of light shot out, and the shutters flew open, revealing the running refrigerators within. "Unless those people are us," she said, looking back with a smile.

"This is stupid."

"Yes, yes it is."

Xion climbed over the stand, and Roxas followed suit. The fridges were also locked, this time with a password. She pointed the Keyblade at the console, and instantly the word 'Walt' appeared in tiny green letters. The fridge slid open, and boxes upon boxes of beautiful Amano Brand sea-salt ice cream were exposed.

Xion pulled one out of an open box, licking her lips. "Hey, precious," she said, creeping Roxas out slightly. "Haven't seen you in a while. I hope you've stayed tasty…"

A familiar voice called. "What are you doing?"

Xion jumped, screaming a bit and dropping the ice cream. Axel was standing there, arms crossed. He was leaning against a nearby wall, eyes closed. He didn't look happy.

"Come on," he said, walking slowly towards the Keybearers. "I've been around you for four and a half months. That's long enough to get to know someone pretty well. I knew you'd come here."

Both Keybearers were staring at the ground, blushing. Xion was cringing. "We're sorry. This was really stupid of us."

"Xion, I am really disappointed in you. I thought you were better than this. You too, Roxas. You should have told her not to do it."

Roxas kept staring the ground. "She wanted to do it, so I kind of felt like I had to, too."

Axel sighed. "I'm going to have to tell Saix. When you agree to something like that, you have to keep up your end of the deal."

"Not that we got a say in it," Xion mumbled.

"Yeah, okay, it was unfair of both of us to drag you into it without asking you. I'm sorry about that. But that's no excuse for stealing. You've broken my trust here, guys. Trust is pretty important, and it can take a while to rebuild."

Xion breathed a little heavier. "So you're not our friend anymore?"

"That's not what I mean. I'd never give up on you two. You know that. But I can't look myself in the mirror and say 'Roxas and Xion never lie' or 'Roxas and Xion never steal' anymore. That's hard on me."

"We're so sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Tears welling up in Xion's eyes would set off basic human instincts in the most callous souls, and Axel was highly susceptible to cuter-than-a-kitten Keybearers already. He bent down and gave both of them a hug.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix extended the ban by two weeks. The trio agreed that this was reasonable. They also both got solo Giant Heartless missions. None of them thought this was reasonable, but Saix was Saix.

The next morning, Xion awoke from a genuinely restful sleep. She hadn't been thinking about ice cream the previous night. She was already planning to do better in the future. She had made a vow never to lie or steal again.

When she looked at her nightstand, she found, much to her surprise, a bar of sea-salt ice cream. She blinked a few times, wondering if she was still dreaming. Then she noticed a note underneath the bar, written in red ink.

_Hey, Xi,_

_I'm not mad at you. Don't get too down on yourself, just move on to tomorrow. I'm here for you, always._

_Axel_

_PS. Convinced Saix to give me this. It's the only ice cream you're allowed. Take it or save it for later, I don't care. Consider it my apology for dragging you into this in the first place._

Xion smiled and took the bar. She walked to the freezer and stuck it in a dark corner, not to be eaten for two weeks.

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**THE END**

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**And the fluffiness is done. Man, I'm soft… :)**

**This took me a while to write. I had to write this AN the day after I finished, because it's so darn long. But hey, I think it was worth it. And of course, it was another Xion-focused story. Darn it, Xion! Why you gotta be so cute?! :)**

**Credit where credit is due: Raberba Girl was the first to use the full name thing, in Modern Love. It's one of the best 'awkward question' stories, so you should read it.**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: Is Xion using mind control on me, and if so, **_**how do I fix it, Roxas has two Keyblades and he doesn't look happy…**_** :P Giftfics and such, you know the drill.**

**Thanks for reading, and be sure to keep your eye out for more sea-salt stories!**


	12. I'm Here

**Go out and grab the ice cream, because it's time for another sea-salt story. This is a giftfic for v.t.7, for writing Daddy Axel and for being such a dedicated fan. Now, it's been a few days since I last posted one of these, because I'm focusing on Heroics right now. Also, I wasted time writing a 1K+ word glorified KH3 game mechanic wishlist. If you're interested in seeing that for some reason, let me know, but I don't think it's going to see this site… :P**

**Speaking of KH3, a quick poll: If I were to write a canon-based KH3 fic now and a Reluctant Father-based KH3 later, would you be interested? The canon-based fic would receive slower updates than most of my stuff, say, one every Tuesday, but would be my dream project. It would be my orders—err, love letter to Disney and Square Enix, taking you through the whole game and showing off all the new game mechanics I want. It would also be very long, to fully appreciate the scope of the game. Let me know if you're interested in the reviews.**

**With all of that out of the way, I've wasted far too much time, and I need to get cracking. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**I'm Here**

0=0=0=0=0=0

_It's so cold… Arendelle all over again… BANG—BANG—BANG… what was that?! KRA-KOW! KRA-KOW! KRA-KOW! What's happening? What is that thing—oh, no, it's coming for me… why can't I summon my Keyblade… oh, no, I'm a Dusk, what did I do… no, no, no, NO…_

Xion shot up in bed, screaming. Pure, absolute terror gripped her. After a moment, she realized she was in her room. She patted herself down—she wasn't a Dusk. She couldn't get rid of the fear rationally, and reached for Thomas the Elephant and Bird the Penguin, holding them close and stroking their cotton 'fur'. Her breath was shaky, as it always was when she was recovering from a panic attack.

Most of the time, Xion liked her dreams. They were usually either very calm and comforting or so weird it was hilarious. Occasionally, she even woke up laughing. Not tonight, though. She hadn't liked that dream at all. She had heard Axel talking to Saix once about 'bad dreams', but she hadn't thought such things were possible. Now she knew otherwise.

She gripped her stuffed animals tight. _It wasn't real, _she thought, trying to get herself to stop breathing the shaky breaths that only made her lightheaded. _It wasn't real. Nothing can harm me here. I'm safe. It wasn't real…_

After a few minutes spent regaining her composure (somewhat—at least she wasn't breathing shaky), she looked at her clock. It was 1:17 AM. If she just stayed up, she would have felt like she had been through half a day by the time missions rolled around. She willed herself to lay her head on the pillow and close her eyes. Then, she saw fractured images from the dream, which her terrified imagination managed to make even scarier, and her eyes went open again. She wasn't brave enough to close them again, so she just rolled face-first onto the pillow and hoped it would get her to sleep eventually.

It didn't.

0=0=0=0=0=0

As Xion walked into the Grey Room, Saix looked up. "I keep telling you, Xion. You don't have to wake up early."

Xion raised her hand. "Can't sleep," she said groggily.

Saix started taking notes on his clipboard. Xion wasn't looking too good. Her eyes were tinted red, and they kept drooping, but every time they closed, they snapped open again, as if she was forcing herself to keep them open. She also kept gasping every time the eyes closed, which couldn't be good for her health. Saix did a quick assessment of his contingency plans for such a situation—he prepared for _everything_—and decided to try something.

He put down his clipboard. "Would you… like a coffee?"

Xion nodded. "Yes, I think that would help."

She hated coffee, especially the inedible black sludge the Organization had. Saix knew something was wrong. As he brewed the coffee, he considered his options. Xion couldn't sit out a whole workday. Xemnas wanted Saix to pick up the pace a bit with Kingdom Hearts, what with the recent delay.

Saix brought the coffee out and laid it in front of Xion. She was finally keeping her eyes closed for an extended period, and for a moment, Saix hoped she had finally fallen asleep, but then her eyes shot open again, complete with gasp.

Saix held her on the shoulder lightly. "You have to stop doing that. It isn't good for you."

"Can't stop myself." Xion picked up the coffee and took a sip. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Saix closed his eyes, not believing what he was about to do. "Xion… what if I put Roxas on double duty and let you stay here today? You probably won't be able to collect hearts effectively in this state."

Xion blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. You need rest, and you need it now. Go back to your room and try to sleep, really try. If you still can't sleep, you get the day off."

"Wow… thank you." She put down the coffee and trudged back to her room.

Saix sighed. "Axel, you get a Giant Heartless just for making me this sympathetic."

0=0=0=0=0=0

That evening, Roxas was the first to return. If Xion wasn't feeling well, then he was perfectly happy to do double duty for her. He had completed the missions as fast as he could, not bothering to fill the bonus gauge this time—he could always do a holo-mission later, and Xion came first.

When he returned, he practically sprinted up to Saix. "Is Xion okay?"

Saix did the usual exhalation, as if he had been anticipating this all day. "Okay, yes, fully awake, no. She's been in her room all day. She's had a few micro-sleeps, but she's only marginally better. She'll probably be fine tomorrow, though."

"Can I see her?"

"I doubt she wants to be disturbed."

"She always wants to see me, Saix. Always."

Saix stood over him for a long moment, giving him a skeptical look. "…Fine, then. If she tells you to leave, then leave."

Roxas nodded and ran towards Xion's room. He just managed to stop himself from bursting in loudly. He gave the door a few test knocks, hoping she was awake enough to hear them.

After a tense moment, he heard her voice, though it was bleary and soft. "Who is it?"

"Roxas."

Xion's voice got a little more pleasant. "Come in. Please, I've been wanting to see you all day…"

Roxas opened the door slowly. Xion was wrapped up in her blanket like a burrito. She was smiling at him, but she didn't look well at all otherwise.

Roxas crouched down next to the bed and stroked her hair gently. "You feeling okay?"

Xion shook her head. "Not really. I had a bad dream last night."

"A… bad dream?"

"Yeah. I didn't think it was possible, either. It keeps coming back, every time I close my eyes."

Roxas bit his lip. "Did you tell Saix?"

"No. All he knows is that I can't sleep. I don't want him to know."

"Should I tell Axel when he gets back?"

She sighed. "I don't want to bother him with something that isn't real."

"Not real?" Roxas laid his hand on her cheek. "Xion, this is real. The way you're feeling, this—"

"Stop it."

"Huh?"

"I know what you mean, but…" She sighed. "It makes the dream feel more real when you say that."

Roxas nodded. "Is there any way I can help?"

"…Tell me a story."

Roxas blinked. He was not exactly a master storyteller. Heck, most days it was Xion telling the stories. He racked his brain, then thought of something, a technique he had learned observing a Twilight Town mother and her baby.

With a sigh of his own, Roxas began. "Once upon a time, there was a girl named Xion. She lived in a big castle and fought Heartless. She was pretty good at it. One night, she didn't sleep well, and her best friend Roxas came to tell her a story. And he said, 'once upon a time, there was a girl named Xion…'"

It did the trick. After a few rounds, she drifted back to sleep, smiling. He checked the clock—it was 5:30. He would have left at this point, but somehow, the sight of Xion wrapped up in the blanket, smiling that cute little smile and snoring that cute little snore, made him want to stay.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix held Axel's arm as he started to walk away. "You'll have to skip your ice cream today. Xion isn't feeling well."

Axel spun around. "What? What happened?"

"Ask Roxas, he was watching her half an hour ago. Still watching her, if I've been observant enough."

Without another word, he went over to Xion's room and opened the door. Roxas turned around and put a finger to his lips. Axel nodded and walked over, crouching down next to him and looking at Xion. He couldn't see her face, but she was just as cute with her head buried in the pillows. The hair made her head look like a ball of fluff.

Axel turned to Roxas. "What happened?"

Roxas shook his head. "She doesn't want me to tell you."

Adrenaline started rising up as Axel assumed the worst. "Can you at least tell me who to burn, then?"

More headshaking. "No, no one did anything to her, otherwise you would have found them beaten to a pulp by my Keyblade."

Axel smiled and patted Roxas' head. "That's my boy. You're starting to pick up my protective habits."

Roxas rubbed Xion's hair. "She's all I really think about anymore. No matter what, she always comes first. Is that what love is?"

"Yup. That's exactly what it is. You put the person you love ahead of anyone else, including yourself."

"Then I like love." Roxas patted Xion one more time and turned back to Axel. "Should I watch her?"

"No. You need your own rest, Rox. I'll watch her."

Roxas nodded and kissed Xion lightly on the head before reluctantly leaving the room. Axel sighed. Things like that confused him to no end. To him, this still felt like a close friendship, not love. He was starting to believe Nobodies actually could feel, just not as much as Somebodies, and didn't even rule out familial love, but the kind of love Roxas was feeling still failed the reality check for him. He had had girlfriends himself when he was Roxas' age—well, apparent age. He remembered what that kind of love felt like, and it was way too strong even for his new theory.

_Maybe, _he thought to himself, not daring to say it aloud. _They aren't Nobodies at all._

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_Number XIV, you have failed too many times. I will no longer tolerate your blatant incompetence."_

_I'm on my knees, begging. "Superior, please, give me another chance!"_

"_I've given you enough chances as it is. I am done with you."_

_He's raising his hand… no, no, this can't be happening… what did I do, everything was perfect, what did I do… I don't want to be a dusk… it's too cold, it's too loud… nononononono NO!_

For the second time in two nights, Xion woke up screaming. There was a man lying on the floor next to her, which made her shriek even louder. The man got up, yelling something she knew she wasn't supposed to say until she was older, and summoned chakrams. The chakrams made her notice the spiky hair, and she realized it was just Axel. She covered her mouth to stop herself from screaming more.

Axel looked around, searching for any sign of an intruder, then put the chakrams away and held Xion by the shoulders. "What happened, Xion? You can tell me."

"I…" Xion looked at the bed. "It wasn't real… I don't want to bother you if it wasn't real…"

"Did you have a bad dream?"

She blinked. "How did you…"

"I've had a few. I know what they look like." Axel hugged her. "Listen, it's not real, but it _feels _real, and that's why it's scary. You can always tell me about the things that scare you."

She buried her head in his chest. "Can you make me not afraid?"

"I don't know, but I can try."

She practically latched onto Axel. "I'm afraid of getting dusked."

"That will never happen. I'll make sure it never happens. I'd be willing to give my life to make sure it didn't happen. Always remember that."

"I'm afraid of loud noises."

"It's just sound. The noises can't hurt you. And even if they could, they'd have to go through me."

"Ever since Arendelle, I've been afraid of the cold."

"I'll always keep you warm."

Xion was crying now, but at the same time, she was starting to feel better. "I'm afraid of failing."

"One failure isn't going to ruin everything. Just get up and keep moving."

"I'm afraid of being alone."

"You'll never be alone, not forever. That's because I'm always here."

"I'm afraid of the things I don't know."

"Everyone is. But do you know what the things you don't know are scared of?"

"What?"

"Me. Because if they dare to hurt you, then they'll have to talk to me, which will really suck for them."

Xion ran out of tears. She was feeling a lot better, but she still had one more thing. "And now I'm afraid of sleeping."

"Don't be. You can sleep." He hugged her tight. "Because I'm here."

Xion could feel her body getting heavy, random thoughts hijacking her brain, just the way she always felt falling asleep. "I know I'm a Nobody… but I still love you."

As she drifted off, she could just barely hear Axel whispering in her ear. "Then I love you back."

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**THE END**

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**Hold on a minute, I got to go cool down my heart… :)**

**That last scene is one of those moments when I just think to myself, "Oh. They're right. I am good at this." :) I share many anxieties with RF!Xion, which is why I choose to let her take over yet again. I'm starting to think that maybe I project myself onto her **_**too much. **_**Shiro Amano, I blame you for making Xion so darn cute in the manga. I couldn't help but relate to her! You turned her into my avatar, and I'm a boy, gosh darn it! Or maybe I'm just… insane… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. As a reminder, I would like to know if you'd be interested in me writing a canon-based vision for Kingdom Hearts III right now. I really want to, but you're the ones who'll have to get an email telling you about it every Tuesday morning, so I'm waiting for your answers. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and SQAURE XION MUST BE IN KH3—um, sorry. Stay tuned for the next sea-salt story, folks. *stares at Xion desktop background* :)**


	13. The Exciting Penguins

**Is your cute-o-meter reset? Please make sure it is, because it's time for another sea-salt story. Ah, here we are, lucky number thirteen. So, I've finally figured out why this number seems to be so central to the KH franchise. Count the letters in the title: Kingdom Hearts. It's all an allusion to the title. This will probably be important in KH3 somehow… Come to think of it, Sea-Salt Stories is fourteen letters, allowing our favorite cutie to have her own letter… :)**

**Anyway, I was sitting one day when I thought, **_**Hey, this has been a sort of one-sided relationship so far, Xion needs to do something for Roxas**_**. This was the very fluffy, very funny result. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

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**The Exciting Penguins**

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_Bam! Bam! Bam! _Axel opened his eyes. There was a banging sound at the door, and it wasn't stopping. He checked the time. It was almost midnight. Quickly, he looked outside. No, there weren't any thunderstorms that he could see, ruling out two possibilities at once. But then what was going on?

He listened. The knocking wasn't frantic, like it would be if there was a storm or an actual danger. It was a constant, regular banging, like a nail being hammered into a wall. It was also incessant—it had been a whole minute, and it was still going.

He rubbed his face with his hands. "That girl claims she's afraid of loud noises, yet she's perfectly capable of making them herself…"

With great reluctance, Axel got up and opened the door. There was little Xion, just as he had predicted. She was wearing the wool Organization coat Roxas had given her for Valentine's Day. The hood was up, and it made her look cute, unlike the Organization hood, which made her look creepy. She was staring up at him, the usual innocent puppy-eyes expression on. He sighed. Only Xion would be up at this hour to bother him. Roxas slept like a brick, and Saix had upgraded his soundproofing again.

"Xion," he said, fighting off the urge to just close the door and go back to sleep. "What are you doing."

"I need to talk to you. It's about Roxas."

"Why now?"

"I can't wait any longer. It's keeping me awake."

"…Then come in."

She nodded and sat on the bed. Axel walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "What seems to be the problem?"

Xion put a hand to her chin, thinking. "It's not a problem, I guess… it's really just a feeling I'm getting. I've been thinking about everything Roxas has done for me, and I can't stop feeling like I need to do something for him, too."

Axel laughed a bit. "Xi, there's this thing people do. It's called _reciprocation. _It's when you do things for other people because they've done things for you. It's usually just a 'thank you', but when it comes to the kind of bond you and Roxas, well, sometimes it's more."

She nodded. "That makes sense. But why is it keeping me awake?"

"Well… if we're all being honest, he's kind of been doing everything for you. Don't get me wrong, if you're both happy, that's great, but this love thing has to go both ways. Otherwise, he's just your servant, which is never a healthy relationship."

"Love both ways." She smiled and looked up at him. "That's how I want it to be, both ways."

"That, my Keybearer, is a mark of maturity. If you can make it go both ways, then no one is being taken advantage of." He patted her on the head. "You know, you really have to teach me this love trick sometime. How do you do it?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. We talk to each other, and it just… happens."

Axel stared into space for a moment. _Just like I used to do it._

Xion took this as an opportunity to move on. "What should I do? I want it to be just as special as he's been doing it."

"Well, he made you something you liked a lot. Why don't you make him something he'll like a lot?"

Xion slapped her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" She ran out of the room. "Thanks, Axel!"

Axel called after her. "Hey, get your rest first!"

"I will!"

Axel crossed his arms and smirked. "That girl. Always have to do it right now." He went back to his bed, shaking his head. "Xion, you really do have to teach me how to have that kind of love someday…"

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Xion was good at many things. Fighting Heartless. Singing. Helping Axel and Roxas to think up clever ways to annoy Vexen, so that he would retaliate and make an complete and utter fool of himself yet again.

Notice how drawing was not on that list. That's because she was definitely not good at drawing.

She had gone into Zexion's library (the man never seemed to sleep—he just read all night) and borrowed _Drawing for Nobodies. _Usually, the Nobody Guides were _the _fastest possible way to learn any given subject. If it worked for Axel, she figured, it had to work for her. Except it wasn't working for her. She had let go of her perfectionism for once, resigning herself to the fact that she would be terrible at first, but she had been at it for hours now, and there was no visible improvement. It looked like the doodles of a toddler every time.

She crumpled up another failed attempt at drawing Roxas and threw it at a wall hard. "Even drawing's hard!" she whisper-yelled. "Why is it like this?"

She facedesked, reminded herself that yes, she was capable of doing things right—she was tired of her own angst by now—and rubbed a seashell, which helped her think. Clearly, the drawing thing wasn't going to work. What else could she make?

She closed her eyes and let her mind wander. She thought of the usual meeting at the clocktower the previous evening, where she had recapped her harrowing recon mission with Vexen in gripping detail. Once she finished, Axel had told her she needed to get into writing—"You'll write a bestseller and make us all rich."

Smiling, she got up and returned _Drawing for Nobodies. _She borrowed _Writing Short Stories for Nobodies _and went to her room.

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Soon enough…

_The Exciting Penguins_

_Deep in the heart of the coldest worlds live penguins. Penguins don't do much. They waddle. They lay eggs. They waddle some more. The eggs hatch, and cute little baby penguins come out. They teach those baby penguins how to waddle. All in all, penguins are cute, but boring._

_There were once two penguins who were not boring. In fact, they were exciting. There was a boy penguin named Roxas and a girl penguin named Xion. They had giant keys which they used to fight off the orcas that were always trying to eat them, which made them not boring. Even though they were the only thing standing between the penguin colony and an orca's stomach, no one really paid attention to them, because everyone was boring. They loved each other very much._

_There was one penguin named Vexen who did pay attention to them. Vexen was even more boring than the rest of the penguins. He liked it that way. He hated Roxas and Xion, because they were not boring. Every day, he would watch them fight off orcas from a clifftop, and pace up and down, fuming. "Why aren't they boring?!" he would yell. "They are penguins! All penguins must be boring!"_

_One day, Vexen decided to put a stop to it. He made an alliance with the orcas. They would get rid of Roxas and Xion, and he would find a few penguins for them to eat. The orcas called a meeting to figure out how to get rid of Roxas and Xion. They thought and thought._

"_Let's blow them up," said Xigbar, the orca leader._

_All the orcas agreed. They went to the grocery store and bought some dynamite. Then, they went to the iceberg where all the penguins lived._

_Xion was inside, getting tacos. Roxas was sitting on a rock, drawing. He saw the orcas and got out his key. "No," the orcas said. "Don't beat us up. We don't want to eat you anymore. Take this candy as an apology."_

_Roxas took one of the sticks of dyanmite. "This isn't candy," he said. "This is dynamite."_

"_It's totally candy," Xigbar said. "Eat it."_

_Roxas threw the dynamite into the ocean. BOOM! The dynamite exploded. The orcas looked sad for a moment, but unluckily for Roxas, they had a Plan B. They pulled out a bag and stole Roxas._

_Xion came out, carrying tacos. "Roxas, I brought tacos. What was that noise?"_

_She couldn't find Roxas anywhere. After three hours of looking, she found a note. "We stole Roxas and took him to our super-secret evil lair. We will eat him in four hours. LOL. The Orcas."_

"_Holy pancake! I only have an hour! I'm coming, Roxas!" Xion pulled out a phone and called the only other exciting penguin, Axel. "Axel, the orcas stole Roxas. I need a car."_

"_But cars don't go underwater," Axel protested._

"_They go underwater when I drive them. Because I'm exciting."_

"_Oh, right." _

_Five minutes later, Axel gave Xion a really big car powered by rockets. Xion thanked him and drove the car underwater to the super-secret evil lair. It was huge, and had laser beams everywhere. Xion drove around the laser beams, got out, ran into the evil lair and found Roxas inside a cage. She pulled out her key and unlocked the door._

_Roxas came out and hugged Xion. "Thanks for saving me, Xion."_

"_You're welcome." _

_Suddenly, Xigbar appeared, in a giant robot. "I am going to eat you now!" he yelled._

"_No you won't! We have something you don't have!"_

"_Love?"_

"_No." Xion threw a taco at him. "Tacos."_

_Xigbar got mad and blew up everything with his giant robot. He was so mad that he forgot to blow up Roxas and Xion. They drove away and went back to the iceberg while the super-secret evil lair exploded._

_They got out and were hugging again when Vexen walked towards them, clapping slowly. "Did you really think it would be that easy?"_

_Xion stormed up to him. "What can you do? You're boring!"_

"_I can make you boring with my Boring Ray!" Vexen pulled out the Boring Ray and pointed it at Roxas._

"_NOOOOO!" Xion jumped in front of Roxas. The Boring Ray hit her. She felt really weird. She got up and started waddling around. She was boring now._

_Roxas hit Vexen with his key over and over, then picked up the Boring Ray and made Xion not boring again. Then they hugged again._

"_No!" Vexen yelled. "How did you beat me?!"_

_Roxas and Xion smiled. "By being exciting."_

_Vexen went to Penguin Jail, and they all lived happily ever after. THE END._

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Xion sighed, slumping into the couch in the Grey Room. "Sorry if it's bad. I'm better at real stories."

Roxas shook his head. "No, I like it." He smiled at her. "We make great penguins."

Axel was laughing. "Now I have the urge to show this to Vexen just to tick him off. And he can send any reviews to me."

Saix looked up from his paperwork. "I must admit, making a 'Boring Ray' sounds like something he would do. I'm not sure what he would do with it, though."

"Sai, are you saying that Roxas and Xion are already boring?"

"No. I'm just saying that being boring probably wouldn't hinder them much." He looked back at the stack of paperwork, making some new notes. "In fact, it might improve their performance, considering this is what Xion did last night instead of writing the report on Bug Island."

"According to her, Bug Island is a terrible place, and she never wants to go there again. Does there need to be a longer report?"

Saix stared at Axel, full deadpan expression turned on. "Yes."

Axel looked at Roxas and Xion, who were snuggling up against each other, reading the story again together. "Well then, at least give her a few minutes. We've got time."

Saix glared at the scene. When they failed to notice, he went back to his normal, emotionless poker face. "…Fine."

Meanwhile, deep in the most secret lab in the castle, Vexen got to work on the Boring Ray…

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**THE END**

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**Before you ask, yes, you will get a full account of Xion's trip to Bug Island with Vexen and the results of Vexen's experimentation in the science of making people boring. :)**

**Given how much I like Xion and use her as my mirror, it was inevitable she'd end up writing at some point. Her story was very fun for me to write. It was funny and campy and **_**great. **_**I think it's going to be a one-time thing, though… :P**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story, and its story-within-a-story. Remember reviews are always appreciated. So, no one was stepping up to the plate, so I went, 'screw it' and made a TV Tropes page for the Reluctant Father universe myself. It's pretty bare-bones at the moment, because I was so intimidated by the sheer number of tropes on the site that I couldn't think of any to add in. :P If any one of you in the audience is a fellow Troper, drop me a line and help me out. My name on there is TooManyIdeas. You'll get a giftfic for your trouble. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and as always, stay tuned for more sea-salt stories!**


	14. What Did I Do

**Gather around, because it's time for another sea-salt story. This is just some AkuShi fluffiness I threw together last night and decided to share. It can be considered the final story in the little AkuShi arc I inadvertently created with Addiction and I'm Here. Dedicated to v.t.7 and to the memory of Leonard Nimoy, who played Master Xehanort. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

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**What Did I Do**

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"_Hey, guys! I brought the ice cream!" They stay silent, not even looking at me. "Um, guys?"_

_Roxas crosses his arms. "We hate you, Xion."_

"_Wha—huh? Why?"_

"_You know why."_

"_No, no I don't." I'm breathing heavy, starting to panic. "What did I do?"_

_Axel growls at me. "If you don't know what you did, then just go away."_

"_But…" I'm hyperventilating. What's happening? Did Vexen do something? I didn't do anything, I would never do anything to make them hate me. Why won't they tell me anything? Whatever it is, I can fix it, can't I? Why aren't they giving me another chance? Axel said… Roxas said… _

_Roxas hates me… the boy who's done so much for me hates me… how can this be? What did I do?_

_What did I… do…_

Xion opened her eyes. Was that a dream? She wasn't sure. It had felt so real, it was hard to distinguish from an actual memory. What if it was real? What if they did hate her now, for whatever reason? And most importantly, what if she was alone now?

This train of thought meant that Xion woke up crying. She hated crying. It felt so stupid for her, a Keyblade wielder, kicker of Heartless butt, to be crying, and it seemed like a terrible way to start the day. But she couldn't think of anything else to do.

She checked the time. It was six in the morning. She was finally adjusting to waking up at nine, so this threw her off. She didn't care. She ripped off the blanket and ran to Axel's room. She had to know. She couldn't tell if what she had seen was real or not. It felt like it really happened, but it can't have. She had to know.

She burst into the room marked 'VIII', hyperventilating just as she had in the dream. It didn't feel good—it was making her lightheaded, a feeling that always scared her a little—but she couldn't stop herself. She almost reached for Axel, but stopped in her tracks. _If he hates me, he'll just yell at me…_

She shook her head to make the thought go away. Even if he yelled at her, she had to know. The only thing worse than being alone was not knowing if she was alone. She grabbed him and shook to wake him up.

Axel sprung up, then saw Xion. "Huh? What are you doing here?"

She sighed. "Axel," she asked, her voice small and light. "Do you hate me?"

Axel blinked. After a moment, he pulled the covers off and patted the bed, signaling for her to sit with him. She got on the bed, resisting the urge to snuggle into him like usual, just in case.

Not that it mattered. Axel hugged her, his comforting grip holding her safe. "Xion, what would ever make you think that?"

She breathed a small sigh of relief. "I had another bad dream. In it, you and Roxas hated me, and you wouldn't tell me why. It felt so real…"

"Xion, we would never hate you. What reason would we have to hate you?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. It was so scary, because you wouldn't tell me so I could fix it…" She sniffled. "In the bad dreams, no one ever tells me what I did."

"You're scared of not knowing why things are happening, huh?"

She nodded. "The bad dreams, they're always about me not knowing anything…"

Axel stroked her hair softly. "Xi, can you tell me why loud noises scare you?"

"They only scare me if I don't know what they are or where they're coming from. The Heartless… they're right in front of me. I know what they are and how to make them go away. And sometimes even they scare me… I still remember the first time I was flip-footed. Everything was spinning, I had no idea what was happening, it was so scary…"

"Xi…" Axel sighed. "All right, I think I have this figured out, but I just want to be sure. What's the one thing that scares you more than anything else?"

"Being abandoned… and not knowing why."

"And there we go." He would have hugged her tighter, if it was physically possible. He whispered into her ear. "I'm going to say something that will make you not afraid anymore. It might not work right away, and you might still get scared by loud noises or bad dreams, but if you memorize what I'm about to say, it won't be nearly as bad. Are you ready?"

Xion thought of every time she had been scared, how horrible it felt, how it was always like she was about to explode. "Yes. I'm done being scared."

"Okay. Here it is. First, I will never abandon you. Ever. Neither will Roxas. We will always be there for you, no matter what. That's what real friends are. Second, just because you don't know something doesn't mean it's inevitably bad. Remember when you got that stuffed elephant you love so much? You didn't know that was going to happen. Remember when you got the big promotion, with the seat and the title? You didn't know that was going to happen. Remember Valentine's Day? Same thing. And even if it isn't _great, _it can always just be normal. Just like the Heartless. The reason you're not scared of the Heartless is because they're normal. Most of the time, things are normal, and you don't have to be scared. Got it memorized?"

Instead of tapping his own temple like usual, Axel tapped Xion's forehead. She couldn't help laughing, just a little. "Yes." Then she thought of something. "Do you ever get scared?"

"Of course. I'm scared of the same thing, actually."

Xion raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Not knowing things?"

"Yeah. I don't like it when people won't tell me things, either. The difference is how we try to cope. When you get scared, you try to block out everything so that it's like it's not there anymore. You hide, shut your eyes, cover your ears. When I get scared, I get mad and try to force it to go away. I yell, throw things, set things on fire. And you know something else? Neither of those is the right way to handle fear."

"You… make mistakes?"

"Yup. We both need to work on handling it when we get scared. You're not the only one who feels these things sometimes, Xi. Never forget that."

"I thought you said Nobodies can't feel…"

Axel patted her back. "Well, it's like you just said. Even I make mistakes sometimes."

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**THE END**

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**The only thing I really need to add here is that I definitely share Xion's fear of not knowing things. You can find out a lot about me by observing how RF!Xion thinks and acts. I can be a very anxious, panicky person, just like her. Heck, even I was scared of loud noises when I was younger. I think that's one reason Xion's stories are so much easier for me to write—they are, in many ways, based on my own experiences. This might be bad, if it weren't for the fact that she acts this way a lot in the manga, if not to the same extent. The manga truly is what made me so much of a fanboy of her—I could relate. But enough rambling.**

**Status update on my other stories: Heroics will be updated soon, and the outline for the KH3 story is coming along nicely. I'm also working on an AU story involving Babysitter!Saix and a parody of bad Organization XIII OC's (and possibly the Hate Dumb against Xion, if I feel up to it) set in the RF universe. The next sea-salt story arc will probably be more RokuShi, cause they're so fuzzy-wuzzy. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: Which KH character do you relate to the most? Why? And given a chance to meet them, what would you say? Giftfics and such, you know the drill. Bonus Points: What is the number one thing on your KH3 wishlist, anything from new game mechanics to certain pairings to new worlds to story twists? I'll take them into consideration for the KH3 story.**

**Thanks for reading, and remember, always reset the cute-o-meter before reading more sea-salt stories!**


	15. Why Do I Love You

**Open that box of lovely Amano Brand, because it's time for another sea-salt story. So last night, I was languishing around thinking "I can't go three whole days without a story, I just can't," but I have hit a bit of a doldrums in my writing. My most active writing at the moment is for a forum roleplay on TV Tropes. So, I finally put those index cards of ideas to use. Lo and behold I find the perfect prompt for a super fluffy RokuShi story. See, this is why you write these things down, for a day like this! :D**

**I need to write this thing, so let's get moving. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

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**Why Do I Love You**

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By half past nine in the morning, Xion should have been up. Heck, by that point she was usually downright energetic. Today, however, would not turn out to be usual.

Roxas knocked on the door marked 'XIV' slowly but firmly. "Hey, Xion, are you awake?"

Only a moan emanated from the room. Roxas summoned his Keyblade, kicked open the door and ran in, ready to beat the ever-loving snot out of whoever or whatever was hurting her. He made several flourishes with the Keyblade, yelled something that was probably meant to sound cool and got into combat stance.

"Roxas," Xion muttered. "Don't hate me. But you just look dumb."

Roxas blinked and took a look around the room. Indeed, there was no one else in the room. He was just hitting the air, and in fact had been moments away from breaking Xion's mirror. He sighed, put away his Keyblade and assessed the state of his best friend.

It wasn't good. She was wrapped in the blanket like a burrito again, which was never a good sign for her health. She was red in the face, her eyes were watery and she was sniffling. Roxas ran over to her, crouching down next to the bed. He held Xion's hand—he had never noticed how small it was before. "Xion, have you been… crying?"

She smiled, happy to see his face even as a blurry squint. "No. Well, sort of. I don't really feel sad, but it's like my eyes are crying on their own." She sneezed into the crook of her arm. "It started last night. When I got to my room, I was reading, but then I started to feel really sluggish. At first, I thought I was just ready for bed, but I was too tired to even take off my uniform. I knew something was wrong, and I tried to fight it, but I fell asleep as soon as the lights went out."

Roxas bit his lip. "You shouldn't try to fight it like that. Just tell me next time."

Xion made a Xigbar-like snort, though she looked like she meant it playfully. "Roxas. What part of _too tired to take off my uniform _didn't you catch?"

Roxas cringed. "Sorry. I just… like knowing these things."

Xion nodded. "That's all right. So do I. Anyway, when I woke up, it was still seven in the morning and I felt even worse. I've been in bed all day. I really want to get up, but you know that heavy feeling you get when you first wake up? It won't wear off for me. Like… I'm awake, but my body isn't." She closed her eyes. "Saix is going to send me on an Infernal Engine mission or something for this, I just know it."

"Then I can do double duty for you again."

She shook her head. "No, I don't want you to have to do my workload every time I'm having an off day."

"Xion, you are literally incapable of pulling yourself out of bed to go to work. That's not an off day."

She flopped her arm around the bed like a fish, mumbling in frustration, before sighing. "Okay, point taken." She managed the energy to pull her left glove off and lay a hand on Roxas' cheek. "Thank you, Roxas."

"Any time."

"No, I mean…" She closed her eyes, focusing on something. "I mean for everything. Giving me your coat in Arendelle. That drawing, that sea-shell necklace, that white-and-blue coat. Comforting me when I had that bad dream. Even helping me try to get that ice cream. You've done so much for me. I haven't done nearly enough to pay you back…"

Roxas shrugged. "Hey, if you're happy, I'm happy. And besides, I still like that penguin story."

Xion was smiling and burying her head into his chest, like she always did with Axel. "Come on, that was lame. Easily the dumbest thing I've ever written."

Roxas stroked her hair. "If that's the dumbest thing you've ever written, then your best will probably make my head explode."

She chuckled. "I better not show it to you then. I like you too much to let your head explode."

Roxas kissed her on the head. "Why do I love you, Xion?" he whispered into her ear.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I'm a Nobody, and Nobodies can't feel, and they _especially _can't love, then why do I love you?"

She snuggled up closer, which always soothed Roxas somehow. "I don't know. What do you think?"

He laid his head next to hers. "The little things, I guess. Like how you'll wake me up in the middle of the night and try to convince me to do something insane. Or how you always light up when you see something cute. Or what a great singer you are. Or how you snore. How you smile. I still remember when you smiled at me that first day. I thought, hey, she looks nice… I had no idea what I was getting into…"

"Would you have made friends with me if you had known?"

"Yeah. I totally would have. Because, even though I don't have a heart, I love you."

She nodded off. "I… love you too…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

This would have been perfect, if not for one simple biological fact. Colds are the most contagious things in the universe.

When Roxas woke up the next day, he felt the usual heavy feeling. He waited for it to wear off, but it didn't. Sometimes, he would sneeze. Sometimes, he would sneeze several times in a row, in quick succession. He hated that the most. His eyes were watering, like they were crying on their own. He felt like someone had turned off whatever part of his brain ran the muscles.

After a while, Xion poked her head into the room. "Oh, no, I gave it to you, didn't I?"

Roxas shook his head. "Not your fault. The germs fault."

She sighed, then walked over and crouched next to the bed. "Why do I love you, Roxas?"

He smiled the biggest smile he could in this condition. "I don't know. What do you think?"

"The little things. How you always hold me close when I'm sad or scared. How you always make sure I get the last ice cream bar if the box is a one-in-ten and has an extra bar. In fact, everything you do for me. I'm telling you, I need to pay you back somehow."

He tried out the snuggling thing. It actually did wonders for his nerves. "This is enough. This is why I love you, Xion."

She kissed him on the head. "And this is why I love you."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**IT'S SO FLUFFY I'M GONNA—*head explodes* :)**

**Why is RokuShi so gosh darn cute?! It's cuter than puppies and kittens playing with each other on a giant mass of fluffy feather pillows while a baby pets ducklings a few feet away. I'm a boy! Why is this affecting me so? I'm going to have to watch some massive-explosion action movie and play some M-rated game to get my manhood back. Maybe XCOM, that'll grow hair on your chest… **_**wait I used the character customization to make Roxas and Xion… **_**:)**

**I hope you enjoyed this **_**super**_** short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. I'm just going to come out and ask you for RokuShi ideas, because I'm fresh out. Pretty please? Veronica, Makenxie, Midori, anyone else? You guys are so great… :)**

**Thanks for reading, and do enjoy the fluffiness of the next sea-salt story!**


	16. Defense

**Pop some sea-salt popcorn and take a seat, because it is time for another sea-salt story. I posted something, yay! :) I think I'm finally coming out of my doldrums. I would like to take the opportunity to announce that I'll soon he making a collection of RokuShi stories that don't fit into Sea-Salt Stories—AU, pure canon, etc. It will mostly be using internet prompts. Once it's ready, be sure to check it out!**

**So, Makenxie the Awesome suggested this one, along with two others I'll also be writing, because 1) I've been owing him a giftfic and 2) the ideas are all too fun to pass up. :) All of your ideas were great, and I want to write them all when I get a chance.**

**It took me a minute to figure out how to do this one. It should be lots of fun. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Defense**

0=0=0=0=0=0

Axel wasn't sure why Saix had put the whole sea-salt trio together today. Maybe he was just in a good mood. Such a theory was only helped by the fact that Wonderland was such an incredibly easy world to deal with. Then again, Axel still wasn't entirely sure if Saix was even capable of good moods.

In any case, the trio was together, running around Wonderland and collecting hearts. It was set to be the easiest mission ever. And yet, Axel couldn't get a certain nagging feeling out of his head. It was a similar sense to what Saix had, but it was directly aimed at the Keybearers. It was the feeling that something really stupid and ridiculous was about to happen, and it would involve Roxas and Xion, and it would mess up the whole day. He ignored the feeling as well as he could, trying his best to chalk it up to the overprotective nature he had gained for the two. _They're big kids now, _he kept telling himself. _They're a couple, for crying out loud. They can handle themselves._

His thoughts were interrupted when Roxas tapped him on the arm. "We filled the mission gauge one hundred percent. We're done."

Axel checked his wristband. "Well, we still have three chests."

"All of our backpacks are full."

"Toss the moonstones, they grow on trees."

Xion looked up at him. "Why do you want us to stay here?"

Axel sighed. "I guess I just like being able to keep an eye on you two for more than four and a half hours for once.

Xion smiled. "I get that." She turned to Roxas. "I say we go with him."

Roxas shrugged. "Okay, I've got no objections."

Axel snorted. "If only Saix could be persuaded that easily."

So, they went off to find the chests. When they got to the hedge maze, Axel looked around. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone watching them, even lying in wait for them. A lot of people, actually. Again, he brushed it off as best he could.

Of course, it was Roxas who jinxed it. "Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched?"

Right at that moment, approximately fourteen bazillion card soldiers popped out from the hedges and surrounded the three Nobodies. The pikes poked them into single file, put holes in their coats and messed up Axel's hair (which really made him mad). There wasn't enough leeway for anyone to summon their weapons or dark corridor out of there. In fact, they could barely breathe without being jabbed.

The card who looked like the head honcho pulled out a scroll and read. "On orders of her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, you are all to be arrested and put on trial for stealing the royal crown."

Axel sighed. "Sometimes, Roxas, it's best if you just keep your mouth shut."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Not knowing what she did might have made Xion scared, but knowing and realizing that she didn't do it just made her mad. She might have given the card soldiers a serious beatdown, had she not been tied up and pulled by the hair to someplace. She was kicking at the soldiers unproductively, demanding that they let the trio go and making the occasional threat in between screams of pain from the hair-pulling.

Roxas cringed in his own pain and turned to face his—for lack of a better term—girlfriend. "Xion, listen, we've got this. We just have to wait until we get to wherever we're going, and we can bust out of any cell they've got because _we have Keyblades."_

Xion gave an exasperated sigh—that was new. "Roxas. We're tied up."

"…Oh, right."

Xion loved Roxas, but even she admitted that he could be pretty stupid.

The card soldiers threw the trio into a hole in the ground. The hole was tall enough to prevent just jumping out, but it was still shorter than Axel. This became especially inconvenient when one of the soldiers held Axel with a foot, pushing him down and messing up his hair even more than it already was.

The head card soldier stood high above the three. "You will stay here until the trial. You should hope it will be speedy."

Xion tried her best to jump while tied up and having just fallen a few feet without bracing for impact. "We didn't steal any crowns!"

"Is that not something _the thieves _would say?"

Axel sighed. "She's right. This is all a misunderstanding. If you'd just let us talk—"

"You can talk at the trial. For now, you can stare at the walls of your hole."

Without another word, the card soldier walked off, and a cover was thrown over the hole. Besides the light from a few tiny air holes, it was too dark to see anything. All three Nobodies slid into a sitting position, and the Keybearers lit up the hole with their light powers. When that proved to be too bright, Roxas powered down.

Xion looked worried. "A trial? Like the endurance tests back at the castle? I hate those."

Axel looked up, hoping to see at least signs of movement through the air holes. "Not quite. There isn't any fighting involved. We go to this place called a court, and try to prove that we really didn't do it."

"But we didn't."

"Exactly. But anyone could just say that. In a court, you have to prove it by showing evidence."

Xion crossed her arms. "That's not fair."

"It's perfectly fair. If someone stole something you had, and they just said 'I didn't do it', would _you _let them off the hook?"

Xion let out a puff of breath, blowing her hair up. "Okay, good point."

Axel closed his eyes. "Somehow, though, I don't think _this _trial is going to be fair."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix checked the clock. The trio should have been back by now, even if they were doing chests and sigils and such. At this point, Axel, Roxas and Xion being late was a regular occurrence, but it was still almost always the first sign of trouble. It tended to give Saix some shadow of what a Somebody would feel as worry, but he kept telling himself it wasn't for any 'feeling' of attachment to the three. They were merely valuable assets. Never mind the nagging portion of his mind that kept drawing him back to that clock.

No matter what the cause of his 'worry', Saix had to do _something. _He walked over to Luxord, who was playing solitaire, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Number X, I have another assignment for you."

Luxord didn't even look up. "Let me guess. Our self-proclaimed 'sea-salt trio' is in trouble."

"You read my mind."

"No, I just noticed the universe still exists."

Saix sighed (he had picked up on the habit long before Axel). "You're the most versed in Wonderland. If you retrieve them, I'll give you that Crisis Gear you've been wanting."

Luxord smirked and got up. "You have a deal, my friend. They'll be back in…" He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his coat pocket and put them on. "…_no time."_

"Did you seriously just do that?"

"Yes, yes I did. Try it sometime, it's fun."

Saix rolled his eyes and opened the portal to Wonderland.

0=0=0=0=0=0

_TRIAL_

_The red-haired man, the blond boy and the girl_

_VS_

_Wonderland_

_For stealing the royal crown_

_Entertainment for the whole family! Get your tickets now!_

Luxord put the poster in his pocket and dark corridored to the royal garden. "Oh, they are in trouble this time, aren't they?"

When he got there, he found the 'prison', but no trio. He searched the area, in case they had escaped and were hiding for some reason, but he couldn't find them. He was about to just give up when that white rabbit passed through, going on about being late for the trial. He didn't watch where he was going, and hit Luxord's leg.

The rabbit got up. "Terribly sorry! Mustn't be late, mustn't be—"

Luxord picked the rabbit up by the ears. "Take me to the trial, and you won't be."

The rabbit blinked, then nodded. "Then I shall. Just put me down, will you?"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas was trying to stay positive. "At least we're not in a hole anymore."

Xion tried and failed to kick her legs out in the tiny birdcage. "Yeah, and now I'm in a cage that's claustrophobic enough to be showing up in my bad dreams for a while. Real improvement. At least in the hole, I could lean on you."

Axel rolled his eyes. "You claim claustrophobia. You're not the tall one."

Trumpets sounded across the outdoor court, and the white rabbit ran up to the podium and pulled out a scroll. "This court is now in session. Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts, will read the charges."

The Queen of Pompousness walked up and slammed her hand on the dais. "You _thieves _have been charged with stealing my crown!"

"Well, forget about innocent until proven guilty," Axel muttered.

Xion put on her best puppy eyes, the ones that had been known to make even Saix turn to look. "Your Majesty, we really didn't do this. We don't have your crown. We can prove it, you can—"

"_Silence, girl!" _the Queen bellowed. She made Larxene look sweet. _"You are a thief, and now you are a liar!"_

Xion tried to cover her ears, but the cage was too small. That comment actually cut pretty deep for her—bad memories of the ice cream incident came flooding back to her. She just barely managed to hold back a tear—she refused to give this arrogant jerk that satisfaction.

Roxas, on the other hand, got riled up, which was never good for anyone. "Leave her alone! She's telling the truth!"

Axel sighed. "Roxas, you're not making this any—"

Roxas shot Axel a glare. "No. I am sick and tired of this. Everyone in the Organization harasses her every chance they get, Xigbar keeps calling her a puppet, Xemnas never gives her enough credit, and she's just trying to survive in this constant misery. _Every day! _And now this lady wants to call her a thief and a liar? No! I will not put up with that!" He turned back to the queen. "Who do you think you are? You will _not _treat Xion that way. I refuse to let you. She's the closest thing I have to a heart, and I will not let you treat her like dirt. _I love her!"_

Most of the room was in stunned silence. Xion looked torn between joy and horror. The Queen looked more than a little displeased. Axel just shut his eyes in exasperation. "Lovely speech. Very impassioned. Sure, now the whole room knows the existence of the Organization, the names of two of its members and the fact that you don't have a heart. The beheading-happy lady also hates your guts. But hey, good rant."

Roxas blinked and took in the scene. He cringed. "Sorry…" Then he looked the Queen in the eyes. "Oh, wait, not really."

"You could've pretended…"

The Queen stood up slowly, clearly going for dramatic flair. "I have heard enough. " She pointed at the trio, Roxas in particular. _"Off with their—"_

A British accent rang through the room. "One moment, your Highness."

The Queen turned to the source of the noise with a jolt. It was Luxord, carrying a small box. He calmly walked to the podium, reached up and placed the box in front of the Queen. "I found your crown in the lab of an… associate of mine. The fool was rambling about taking the heads for himself as trophies. Blithering idiot, right? Anyway, this is it."

The Queen opened the box and placed the crown on her head. She closed her eye for a moment, basking in the supposed magnificence of the thing. Then she pointed at Roxas again. _"Off with their heads!"_

"Well, that was pointless."

Luxord snapped his fingers, and the locks crumbled to dust. The three Nobodies, having been cooped up in the tiny cages for at least an hour, were relived. That is, until they all fell onto the grass face first. The card soldiers were about to take this opportunity to behead them, but then they started arguing on who to behead first. They weren't the brightest cards in the deck.

The Queen banged her hand on the podium again. "The girl first. Just to spite the boy."

One of the card soldiers raised his axe, but Roxas summoned his Keyblade and struck it in the card's face. He jumped up and got into combat stance, making a primal growl. "_Try to touch her," _he snarled. _"I dare you. Just so I can DESTROY you."_

Anthropomorphic cards are not capable of wetting themselves. This was probably good for the plants of Wonderland.

The cards threw their weapons on the ground and fled, yelling things like 'I didn't sign up for this,' 'I'm too beautiful to be destroyed' and the local equivalent of 'oh, crap, oh, _crap!_' Well, a stronger word, but we don't generally mention it in polite conversation. But Roxas wasn't done. There were two instances in which he could Limit Break. There was the normal condition, when he had taken enough of a beating. Then there was the rarer case, when he was very, _very _angry.

This was the second case.

Roxas became a whirlwind of blue light, tearing up everything in his path. The podium split in two and collapsed, and the seats for the 'jury' was similarly sliced. The audience was very lucky that he didn't come for them before dealing with the main area—he had no remorse whatsoever for people who had basically come to watch Xion—_his _Xion—suffer. The abandoned seats were slashed apart. Then the finale came, with Roxas flying around, shooting out beams of energy that utterly annihilated anything that was left of the outdoor courtroom.

It wasn't a battle. It was an explosion.

Roxas fell to the ground and pointed his Keyblade at the Queen of Hearts. "If you value your _mere existence_, then run away now."

The Queen took the advice of the boy quite happily. She ran away, screaming into the forest. Roxas lowered his weapon. "That should show her," he said, panting.

Luxord's eyes were wide. "Oh, dear," was all he could manage.

Axel got up. "I think the verdict is 'not guilty'."

Xion ran over and hugged him. "You… I'm going to sound like a damsel, but you saved my life."

Roxas put the Keyblade away and returned the hug. "I always will. Always."

"You're… really scary when you get mad."

"Only because I want to protect you." He opened a dark corridor. "Let's leave. I'm done with this place."

0=0=0=0=0=0

That night, Xion walked to the door marked XIII and cautiously opened it. She saw Roxas seething about the whole day. He looked up and nodded. Xion walked to the bed and sat next to him. The light of Kingdom Hearts shone on them both.

Xion leaned on Roxas' shoulder. "Can't sleep."

Roxas held her tight. "That's two of us."

"Why do you defend me so much?"

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Because I love you. Because you deal with enough trash talk from the Organization without hearing it from the rest of the worlds. Because no one ever gets to make my Xion feel afraid. Because no one ever gets to make my Xion cry." He kissed her on the head. "And because you're special. My Special."

Xion closed her eyes. "No one else ever calls me special."

"That's because no one else can see you the way I do. We might be the only people in this Organization who can love. And I might be the only one who will stand up for you."

Xion was dropping into a slow, regular breathing pattern now, always a sign she was falling asleep. "There's Axel."

Roxas shrugged. "He doesn't tear up a whole small section of a world for you."

Xion smiled. "Fair enough."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Well, that went in a different direction than I intended. Roxas and Xion are officially mind controlling me. :)**

**So yeah, Roxas hulked out for Xion. I thought I was just writing adorable RokuShi, but I've moved on. Clearly, they've become a mind virus. Am I infectious? I hope so, because RokuShi needs more stories right now. Also, you have lost the Game. If you don't know what that means, you are not infected. :)**

**And as long as we're talking about mind viruses, I thought I might mention that I now have a Tumblr. I now run two blogs, The Xion Fanboy and Yet Another Ask Xion (and Roxas too). If you use Tumblr, I would appreciate it if you dropped a like, reblog, follow or question. First person who submits a question to YASX will get a giftfic if they mention this story.**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. The giftfic offer is already up there, so no review-based one this time. But leave a review anyway! It makes me feel good. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and be careful not to piss off Roxas while waiting for more sea-salt stories!**


	17. Oath

**Yes, you read the email right. It is time for another sea-salt story. As I'm sure you can tell by now, reports of my disappearance from the face of the Earth have been greatly exaggerated. :)**

**So, here's what happened: I took on too many projects at once, it all came crashing down on me, and I went through a long period of burnout. I kept meaning to get to writing again, and then I just… didn't. Oh, I wrote a few pieces, but most of them are incomplete, some of them probably won't be completed and all of them were mostly me hitting the gas pedal while stuck in the mud. But now I have returned, to bring you the Kingdom Hearts fanfiction you do so love.**

**Now, I know I said I'd do Heroics first, but it's really giving me trouble after so long, so instead, I decided to ease myself back into the writing groove with a fluffy RokuShi story suggested by Mathmagician98, who has been sending me wonderfully long reviews of all my work via PM and convinced me to get off my lazy bum and write something. This story is dedicated to him. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Oath**

0=0=0=0=0=0

_DAY OFF TODAY_

Normally, this was the same as writing _please wake up Axel. _Today, though, was different. Today, Xion had other plans.

Xion walked down the halls of the castle, each step echoing off the walls. She had always wondered why the castle was so large—it was incredibly inefficient, a colossal waste of space and beyond confusing. She guessed (if only to herself) that Xemnas just wanted to show how impressive he was. Not that she found it impressive—she had always been more impressed by small wonders, like the spiral of a seashell or the perfect symmetry of a butterfly's wings. The castle, in its massive scale, was just overcomplicated.

Still, she had learned the way from the Grey Area to the private rooms by rote, and she soon found her way to the door marked XIII. She tapped on it a few times, and when there was no response, she slowly pushed it open, revealing Roxas' room.

Roxas was asleep, of course. Typical. Without an alarm, he slept like a brick, and he usually forgot to turn on his alarm. He had probably learned this from Axel. Mostly, he used Xion as an alarm, a service she was happy to provide. She walked to the bed, crouched next to it and snapped her fingers next to his ear.

Nothing. She rolled her eyes, even though she wasn't actually all that annoyed, and tapped him on the shoulder repeatedly. Roxas seemed to stir just ever so slightly, but he wasn't waking up yet. She sighed and whispered into his ear. "Roxas."

Finally, Roxas opened his eyes. He gave Xion a bleary look. "Oh, hi, Xion. Please tell me it isn't mission assignment time yet."

Xion was smiling. "It's not."

Roxas let his head hit the pillow again, face first. Xion gently rolled his head to face her again, tapping him on the forehead to make him open his eyes again. "But it is the day off."

Roxas sighed and rubbed his eyes, but now he was smiling right along with Xion. "Why do you always wake us up early when it's the day off?"

"So we can enjoy it to the fullest. Besides, I'm not waking up Axel this time."

"Really? Why not?"

"Because this time, I want it to be our day."

Roxas grinned and nodded, and Xion pulled him up. Together, they walked back to the Grey Area, hand in hand. Xion found hand-holding to be a very pleasant feeling, especially when she did it with Roxas. It was like he was grounding her, keeping her from floating away with the hot air of her fears and worries. She could definitely use someone to ground her, that was for sure. In fact, she had been a lot less fearful in general since she had joined up with Roxas on a more steady basis. Roxas was her anchor, keeping her from losing her grip on the wonder of life and falling into Saix-like cynicism, and it made her love him even more.

When they entered the room, Xigbar was already there, messing around on some mobile game. He paused the game and looked up. "Where are you two lovebirds going?"

He was always teasing them like this. It was just how he was. Roxas rolled his eyes. "None of your business."

Xigbar was giving them that face he always made when he was antagonizing them, the wild, lopsided grin. "Hey, I'm an Organization member. A higher-ranking one, at that. I think I get to know who's going out with who here."

Roxas just opened the dark corridor. "Shut up."

"Whatever." Xigbar went back to his game. As they walked through the portal, he muttered a stupid song to himself, acting shamelessly immature. "Roxas and Xion, sitting in a tr—darn pigs…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas and Xion walked along the sandy beach of Destiny Islands. They had both taken off their shoes (at Xion's insistence), and Roxas could feel the wet sand squishing under his feet. He had to admit, it was quite a soothing feeling. The wind blew just enough to cool them off from the hot sun and sway the trees in interesting ways without being uncomfortable. And of course, spending time with Xion was as blissful as always. Then again, just thinking about her made him happy. This made him wonder if he was going insane.

Xion was smiling at him as they walked. "Don't let Xigbar mess up the whole day for you. He doesn't know anything."

Roxas smiled back. "What do you mean? He couldn't mess up a day with you in it no matter how hard he tried."

"I make your days happy?"

"Yeah. You make everything about my life just a little happier."

Xion smiled even more and got closer. "I would say the same of you."

Roxas blinked. "Really? You know I'm not exactly the most cheerful guy."

Xion draped her arm over his shoulders. "You're cheerful enough to please me. Besides, you're still cute even when you're grumpy."

"Cute?" Roxas snorted. "That is not a title I would normally give myself."

"You should. I think you're cute."

"Why?"

"Well…" Xion palmed the seashell necklace, the gift she had decided would be perfect for today. "For one thing, you'll do things like make necklaces for me."

"That's cute?"

"I think so, at least." She patted his head. "I also like your hair. I think you do spiky better than Axel. It makes you look like a big, golden pillow."

Roxas lightly swatted the hand away, a playful grin on his face. "Hey! Your hair looks like a puffball sometimes, too."

"And I like it that way."

Roxas snorted. "Roxas and Xion, owners of the famous Organization trademark pillow hair."

Xion laughed. "At least we do our hair better than Vexen."

"We do _everything _better than Vexen."

"Except be annoying."

"Well, he probably studied how to be annoying, so no big surprise there." Roxas draped his own arm over Xion's shoulder, the same way she had with his own. "I'm not annoying, right?"

"Even when you are annoying, you're still cute."

Roxas made a laugh of his own. "I wonder if you're cute when you're annoying. I'll never know, because you're never annoying."

"I'm only annoying when I want to be."

Both Keybearers laughed together.

0=0=0=0=0=0

A little later, the two were sitting on a tree together, looking out at the rest of the island. It was truly beautiful at all times of day, and Xion loved it. Of course, they weren't sure what to do now, but on the other hand, this was a perfectly fine activity for now.

Xion thought of something and pulled a star-shaped fruit off of one of the branches. "Hey, Roxas?"

Roxas turned, smiling as usual. "Yeah?"

"Do you… want to share this with me?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Well…" Xion sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "One time, I decided to dark corridor to the mainland to see what it was like—it's really great, I'll take you there some time—but anyway, I heard there that you can share this fruit with someone, and your destinies will become forever intertwined." She flipped the fruit in her hands. "I'm not sure if it's true, but if it is, I wouldn't want you ending up carrying any destinies you don't want…"

Roxas laughed. "That sounds like a story. But if it is true, hey…" He got closer to her. "I can't think of someone I'd want my destiny intertwined with more."

Xion's smile got huge. "Really?"

Roxas laughed again. "Well, I think we have intertwined destinies anyway from being with each other so much, anyway. Not that I'm complaining—you're the best thing that ever happened to me, remember?"

Xion hugged him and split the fruit in half. "Share, then?"

"Yeah. Share."

Roxas took one half, and after a quick count to three, the two Keybearers bit into the fruit at the same time. After a moment of chewing, Roxas swallowed and set the remaining fruit down. "I like sea-salt ice cream better."

Xion set her own fruit down. "Yeah, so do I."

Roxas draped his arm around Xion, though. "I hope it still managed the destiny thing, though."

"I think you were right when you said our destinies are already intertwined."

"Yeah." Roxas got right up against her. "Hey. Can I be honest with you for a minute? Nothing bad."

"Of course."

He leaned close to her and whispered in her ear. "I love you. And I will always love you. No matter what happens, no matter what we face, no matter what we say or do, I will always love you."

Xion sighed. "Even… what if…"

Roxas nodded. "Go ahead. I doubt you'll find something that would make me stop loving you."

"What if I lost my Keyblade?"

"Even then."

"What if I was Dusked?"

"Even then."

"What if I was getting on your nerves?"

"Even then."

"What if I did something bad and hurt you on accident?"

"Even then."

"What if I was keeping a secret from you?"

"Even then."

"What if I lied to you?"

"Even then."

"What if…" She sighed again. "What if I wasn't me?"

Roxas thought for a moment. "…Even then." He kissed her on the cheek. "And that's an oath."

"…Thank you." Xion hugged him tight, doing a quick kiss of her own on his cheek. After a long moment that felt like forever, she rummaged around in her coat pockets. "Speaking of oaths… I made something for you."

Roxas waited patiently, and after a moment, Xion pulled out a keychain. It was a small, yellow star, not unlike the fruit they had just eaten, with a little smiley face on one point. It had a tiny rope instead of a metal chain. A small, green leaf shot off from the star, and on that leaf was a word, written in sea-salt blue pen: _Oathkeeper._

Roxas held the keychain in his closed fist and smiled. "I like it."

"Thanks. I made it all by myself." She summoned her own Keyblade, Oblivion, aka Darklight. "I got a special Keyblade, so I thought you would want one, too. Go ahead, try it."

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and put on the keychain. Instantly, the weapon transformed. The handguards were now two white wings, like the wings of an angel, and there was a small heart in the center of the handle. In addition, the main edge now had a bunch of multicolored points shooting off in different directions, with another heart behind it. The Keyblade was now mostly white.

Roxas made a swing down with the weapon. "Oathkeeper…"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how the name came to me, but I liked it. But if you want to change it, like I changed my Keyblade's name, you can."

"Nah." He put away the new Keyblade. "I like it. It's like… a way to make sure I remember the things I said here. A way to keep my oath."

Xion hugged him again. "I make the same oath to you. I love you. I'll always love you, no matter what."

"What if I was a jerk to you?"

"Even then."

"…That's about all I was worried about."

Xion laughed. "Why? You aren't a jerk."

"I can be."

"So can Axel. So can I. That doesn't make us bad. As long as we always try to be nice, it's okay if we make mistakes sometimes."

Roxas smiled at her. "You're growing out of your perfectionism, huh?"

"After a while, I realized that if I was going to be happy, I had to grow out of it." She sighed yet again—Roxas wondered if she was picking up the habit from Axel. "I'm still working on it. It can be hard sometimes to realize that just because I messed up a bit doesn't mean I have to start over, or that everything's ruined."

Roxas whispered in her ear again. "If it helps you, the oath means that you can make mistakes and I'll still love you."

Xion laughed again. "Now you're just repeating yourself."

"Hey, if it's about you and love, I think it's worth repeating." He kissed her cheek again. "So I'll repeat it one more time. I will always love you. And that's an oath. And I keep my oaths."

0=0=0=0=0=0

When they got back to the castle, Xigbar was reading a magazine. He was still in a trolling mood. "How'd the date go?"

This time, they were ready. Roxas summoned Oathkeeper to his hand, showing it to Xigbar with all the enthusiasm of a child showing off their coolest toy to the rest of the school.

After a moment, Xigbar laughed. "Oh, look, the Key of Destiny got the girly Keyblade."

Roxas blinked. "What? So?"

"…You're not disappointed at all that her Keyblade is all black and sleek and cool, while yours is all hearts and sparkles?"

Roxas looked a mix of mildly annoyed and supremely confused. "I really don't see the point you're trying to make here."

"…You know what, I give up on trying to mess with you, go do what lovers do or something."

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

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…**It's done, I actually wrote something publishable, it's flipping done… :)**

**So now that I'm back in business, what's next? Well, don't worry about Heroics being lost forever, because I am going to find a way to tackle it no matter what. Unforgettable will also be updated soon, and I even have another big idea I might use once everything else is taken care of. It involves dual-wielding Roxas, so of course it will be awesome. :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. No giftfic offers this time around—I've got a full plate. But review anyway! I write at least partially to hear from you. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and yes, you can now be sure that there will be more sea-salt stories!**


	18. Storm

**Time to settle in for another sea-salt story. Happy Xion Day (May 14th)! :D After a week of silence, I am back! an idea that came to me one day when I was having bad weather. It's also loosely based on something that good man Mathmagican threw at me. Continuity is any time after Oath. I hope you enjoy.**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Storm**

0=0=0=0=0=0

The wind blew on the window of Xion's room again, making that noise that always made her jump. After a moment, she sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. This weather had been going on for about ten minutes now, and it was getting worse. She was just trying to focus on the recon report she was writing, but it was hard for her to concentrate. This sort of thing still dug up a little anxiety in her.

She kept writing. _Weather conditions in Port Royal appear to be poor at the moment. Rolling storms are causing normally safe ocean voyages to become extremely hazardous for sailors. This is a potential Giant Heartless situation, and further investigation is recommended._

Giant Heartless. Something Xion could beat up. If only the storm here at the Castle were so easy to chase off.

She heard a low rumble and jumped again. After collecting herself, she moaned. "Hate this… why am I still afraid of this…" She closed her eyes and covered her ears, which was still her stock response to something she couldn't hit. She was trying to grow out of it, but this was the largest storm she had ever seen. "I'm fine… it's fine… nothing's wrong… everything's—"

_KRA-KOW!_

She yelped and got up. Clearly, the usual tactics weren't going to work. This storm was just too scary, and she could sense it was going to get worse. She tried to will herself to sit back down, but then the thunder sounded again, and the lights flickered. She ran from her room into the hallway.

All the lights were off. This might have provided Xion some security, had the Grey Room just a few feet away not had a massive window that flashed every ten or twenty seconds now. Somehow, the ensuing thunder was even louder in the hallway. She thought for a moment, unsure what to do next. She considered going to Axel's room for a moment, but then thought better of it. Axel had had a tough mission that day. He deserved some rest.

Instead, she went to Roxas' room.

Roxas was asleep. Xion found herself a little envious of his ability to fall asleep and stay asleep under almost any condition. She didn't really want to wake him up to this, so she started slowly bringing the door closed again.

_KRAKA-BOOM!_

On second thought, maybe there was a way to be in his room without waking him up…

Xion crept toward the bed, hiding the window from her view with her hand so that she didn't have to watch the storm outside. But as she got closer, hearing Roxas' soft snoring, she couldn't help but relax a bit. There was a simple fact made clear that night: _Roxas _plus _sleep _equaled _adorable. _For Xion, that was as easy as one plus one.

She sat next to the bed, watching Roxas and listening to the snoring. She wondered for a moment if he would mind if he knew, but then she shook the thought off. Knowing Roxas, he'd probably be thrilled.

Xion would have just kept sitting there, watching Roxas, had it not been for…

_KRA-KOW!_

…That.

After a moment's hesitation, she decided to do something crazy. She crawled to the other end of the bed, climbed up on it, crawled all the way to Roxas and lied down next to him, taking part of the blanket and sliding under it. She was trying to be very slow and careful about it so that she wouldn't wake Roxas up—she was about the _only _thing that could wake him up from a deep sleep. She figured he'd probably be mad if she woke him up to all this racket. Speaking of which…

_KRA-POW!_

This was the biggest one so far. Xion grunted in fear and rolled over, bumping into Roxas by accident. The boy stirred, and she froze in place.

After a moment, Roxas rolled over to face her. "…Oh, hi, Xion."

Xion started to get up. "I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"Hey." Roxas held her arm. "It's okay. Lie down."

Xion blinked, then slumped back down, burying her head in his chest. "There's a storm. Biggest one I've ever seen. Why am I still afraid… I'm sorry I'm like this…"

"It's okay." Roxas held her close. "I can't say I'm not afraid of things like this myself."

Xion might have looked up, had she been brave enough. "Really? You're scared of thunder?"

"Hey, it's a scary thing. You're just minding your own business, then here comes this flash and this big—"

_KA-BOOM!_

Roxas cringed at the interruption. "…Yeah, that can freak you out."

Xion squeezed Roxas tight and took a moment to calm down. She found that Roxas made her feel safer. "…I'm sorry you had to wake up to it…"

"That's all right. It's easier with you."

"How do you handle it when you're alone?"

Roxas stroked her hair as he usually did. "I think about you."

Xion snuggled up against him. "You're just saying that to make me feel better, aren't you?"

"No, it's the truth. I think about you whenever I'm scared."

"What are scared of?"

Roxas whispered in her ear. "Thunder, just like you. Being alone, just like you. Not knowing what's going on, just like you. Xemnas and his stupid threats and sadistic punishments. Losing Axel. Losing you."

"What would you do if you lost me?"

"…I don't know. Whoever took you from me would definitely be in a lot of pain as soon as I got my hands on them. Beyond that…" He kissed her forehead. "…I don't know because I don't want to think about it."

She sighed. "I feel the same way about you."

"That makes me feel safer. Really." Roxas pulled her even closer. "Do you want to sleep?"

"But I have a report to finish…"

"It can wait until morning. If you write it tired and nervous, it'll just sound stupid."

Xion giggled. "Good point. Yeah, I want to sleep." Another burst of thunder sounded, and she whimpered a bit. "I'm not sure I can with this storm, though…"

"I'll help you out, then. Don't pay attention to the thunder. Just focus on me."

Xion nodded and buried herself as deep in Roxas' body as she could manage. "Okay."

Roxas thought for a moment—he was making this up as he went along. "You're falling asleep."

Xion snorted. "What?"

"Pretend. This works, trust me. It's how I fall asleep."

"If you say so." She pretended to yawn, an exercise that she found actually made her just a little more tired.

"Good, just like that. You're getting heavy. Think it, feel it."

Xion took deep breaths and relaxed as much as she could, imagining herself getting heavier. After a moment, she realized she really could feel it. "It's working," she whispered. "Why is it working?"

"If you think tired thoughts when you're tired, eventually your body just accepts it." Roxas let his own breathing get soft, lowering his voice to a murmur. "The last of your energy is going away. Kick your leg."

Xion did a halfhearted kick backwards.

"And it's gone. You're just lying there now. Are you comfortable?"

"Uh-huh_."_

"Good. You're almost there. You can feel your thoughts getting muddled. Your brain's shutting down for the night. Still with me?"

She found herself focusing on her own breathing, almost dropping off. "…I feel like I'm falling, actually falling…"

"That's normal. Don't be scared. I've got you." Roxas kissed her on the head again. "Good night."

She caught herself just enough to whisper something. "I love you."

"Love you too."

As she drifted off into dreamland, she noticed the storm had stopped.

0=0=0=0=0=0

The storm had kept Axel awake. He kept waiting for Xion to come pounding on the door, but she never did. Maybe she had already fallen asleep. But unlike Roxas, she was a light sleeper. Something like this would have kept her awake, right?

After the storm passed, Axel gave up on sleep, got up and walked toward Xion's room. When he poked his head in, Xion wasn't there. He checked under the bed and in the closet. Nothing. For a moment, he thought the worst, but then something occurred to him. He walked to the door marked _XIII _and saw that it was slightly ajar. He pushed it open and looked inside.

There were the Keybearers, lying in the same bed, heads nuzzled up next to each other, fast asleep, as if there had been no storm at all.

Axel shut his eyes to avoid cooing. "And there goes the last shred of my manliness… darn kids, gotta be so adorable…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

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**Yet more RokuShi fluff! Who would have guessed?! :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Actually, my plate will be pretty clear once all these get uploaded, so it's Reviewer Question Time: Have you ever had a dream about Kingdom Hearts? What happened in it? Giftfics and all.**

**Thanks for reading, and as always, be sure to tune in for more sea-salt stories!**


	19. Birthday Present

**SURPRISE! It's time for another sea-salt story! So, today marks the sixth anniversary of the release of Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, making it Xion's birthday. You know who else's birthday it is? **_**MINE! **_**Yup, your favorite fluffy author has become a year older. Does the fact that Xion and I share a birthday have anything to do with how much I like her? I wonder… :)**

**Anyway, of course I had to have a little special today. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**Birthday Present**

0=0=0=0=0=0

"Let me get this straight. You want me to cancel work for one day on your whim, in order to throw a party for someone whom I am still convinced cannot feel, and therefore cannot enjoy parties. And in addition, she has not even been in existence long enough to have a birthday."

Well, when Saix put it that way, it didn't sound nearly as brilliant.

Birthdays were not generally a big deal in the Organization. After all, since they could never quite remember the dates of their real birthdays, all they had to go on was the day they formed as Nobodies, and that would basically be 'celebrating' the day when they literally lost the ability to care about anything, which wouldn't really be a great party. But when Axel had realized that Xion's first half-birthday (six months of existence) was only one day away, he had decided that she deserved at least one proper birthday party. Of course, his plans never did account for resistance from a certain blue-haired man. He had to admit that he was just a little stupid that way.

Axel rubbed his face. "Look, Sai, I get it. You're not Xion. You don't understand what it's like to be her. But the thing is, she's a kid, and she deserves this thing that kids do."

Saix just kept writing in his paperwork. "I think you coddle her."

"When have I ever—"

Saix put down his pen and stared at Axel blankly.

"…Okay, fine, I do kind of coddle her. But come on, just try to have empathy for a moment."

Saix did the old not-rolling-my-eyes trick again. "Empathy requires emotion."

"Then fake it, I don't care." Axel leaned in. "You may not have feelings now, but you had them when you were her age…physical age, I mean…and I bet you felt great on your birthday that year."

Saix was silent for a long moment. "On my sixteenth birthday, I was attacked by a rabid dog. Nice try."

Axel sighed. "Isa, please?"

"Now you're going 'Isa' on me. Number VIII, you are becoming very annoying, and—"

"I'll do triple duty the next day."

Saix blinked. "…You understand how much work that is."

"Yep, I do."

A Somebody may have gotten a wild grin on their faces in this moment. Well, a Somebody other than Isa. But Axel could still detect the slightest hint of bliss from the man in front of him.

After a long moment, Saix went back to his paperwork. "Fine. Just this once. I hope, for your sake, she finds it enjoyable."

Axel shook his hand enthusiastically. "Thank you, sir."

"Get out before I change my mind."

As Axel left, he could hear Saix mumbling about the trio's constant attempts to get him to actually care about a puppet replica. Axel couldn't help but think that Saix was just trying to convince himself that he didn't care.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas looked up from his handheld video game when he heard Axel walking into his room. "Hey."

Axel plopped down next to his friend on the bed. "I'll cut to the chase. We're doing something special for Xion."

"I support this motion. But what do we do?"

Axel reached into his coat and pulled out a copy of _Birthday Parties for Nobodies. _"At this point, I've given up trying to count how many of these darn things Zexion has."

Roxas read the title a few times. "What's a birthday party?"

Axel scratched his neck. He forgot about that part. "Well…we celebrate the day Xion was born. Formed, you know what I mean."

"Why?"

"Do we need a reason other than 'she's awesome'?"

Roxas stood up. "No, we don't. What do we do?"

0=0=0=0=0=0

If Vexen had a heart, he would have felt seething rage at the sight of Axel and Roxas attempting to write the words _HAPPY BIRTHDAY XION _on a cake in icing. It was a puppet—_his _puppet—and they were acting like it was a real person who could have birthdays. Those two had messed up the whole plan the moment they met it, and the fact that Xion had even been around long enough to have a birthday, even a half-birthday, only reminded Vexen how slow progress was.

He pulled out his science journal. Today was as good a day as any to run some tests, right? If Saix inquired, he could simply say he was giving the Organization's Keybearers 'stress tests'. Ruining the day for the stupid 'friends' was merely an added bonus.

Speaking of the Luna Diviner, he walked by Vexen right at that moment and glared. "Why are you watching them?"

Vexen jumped. "Oh, I am merely observing them. It is not a crime to observe people, is it?"

"Actually, it is. It's called stalking, and it is what you are doing at the moment."

Vexen huffed in mock shock. "Me? What would ever make you think I was stalking those idiots?"

Saix was really good at blankly staring at people when they said something stupid. When Vexen refused to respond, however, he just choose to move on. "You waste you talents," he said as he walked off.

Vexen snickered as Roxas accidently overshot one of the lines in the _X _and put icing on the table. "I am merely trying to keep them from wasting theirs."

0=0=0=0=0=0

Roxas paced up and down the hallway, hands behind his back. He had been so good at coming up with presents to give Xion, back when he had given none previously. How could he top the Valentine's Day gifts? He briefly pondered giving her his Keyblade, then remembered that was _her _gift to _him. _Also, he wouldn't be able to do his job without the Keyblade. That occurred to him second—his priorities, while understandable, were still a bit skewed.

He was so focused on pacing that he almost bumped into Xion as she came down the hallway. He blinked and stepped out of the way. "Oh, sorry, Xion."

Xion smiled. "It's okay. What's up?"

"I'm…" Roxas remembered that this was supposed to be a surprise. "I'm just thinking."

Xion laughed. "Of course, you think very hard."

"Yes I do." Roxas thought of something. "Hey, are you still doing sitar lessons with Demyx?"

"Actually, I'm almost done! We're just wrapping up the more advanced stuff." She rubbed her neck, a habit she had picked up from Roxas. "I'm not sure what I'll do though, without my own sitar to play. I saw one in a shop in Twilight Town, but it's _way _beyond my munny stash. I mean, even the weapon gears aren't that expensive. It's incredible."

"I'll—" Roxas bit his tongue to keep himself from immediately offering help and ruining the surprise. "Uh, that sucks. I hope you can get it at some point."

Xion gave Roxas a weird look for a moment, but she decided it was her imagination. "Maybe if I grind a bunch of holo-missions, I can get it." She gave Roxas a quick peck on the cheek—they did that too, now. "See you later."

"See you."

Roxas kept an eye on Xion as she walked off. "Looks like I'm going to have to make some money fast…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

Luxord smiled. "Why, Roxas, I haven't seen you do this well at any card game in…well, ever."

Roxas tapped his fingers against the couch. "Well, I have motivation."

"Motivation, now?" Luxord looked back at his cards. "As long as you don't get ahead of yourself, the motive to win can be a very powerful asset in a game."

"It's more than that."

"Ah, I see how it is. It's your girl, right? Many have gambled fortunes for those they loved."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "None of your business."

Luxord snorted. "Love can be a great game as well, though it is not a game I can ever play again…" Luxord set his cards down, locking in his play. "I raise you five thousand."

"Fourteen."

A grin appeared on Luxord's face. "High-stakes, now? Very well."

Roxas simply locked in his play, and both players revealed their cards. Roxas had a royal flush.

"…Let me see your hands."

Roxas showed Luxord the cards.

"No, your real hands. The one you put rings on. I think you have Lucky Star."

Roxas held his hands up. "Nope."

Luxord was still grinning. "Your pockets."

Roxas pulled out his pockets, revealing nothing but his munny bag and an ice cream stick he forgot to throw away. "This is fair, Luxord."

Luxord burst into laughter and pushed the stacks of munny toward Roxas, even throwing in a little extra. "Congrats, you have passed the Gambler's Challenge. That is, you actually beat me in a fair game."

Roxas scooped up the munny and stuffed it into his bag. "Thank you."

Luxord set up a game of Solitaire for himself. "You're welcome. I wish you luck in all the games you play."

Roxas nodded and walked off. Luxord watched him go.

"Especially the game for which we all fight so we can play…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

After all the trouble of defeating the Gambler of Fate, Roxas was looking forward to turning in all the cash to the Twilight Town music store for the sitar. So imagine his surprise when he found that there was no sitar in that music store.

Roxas played with the munny bag in his hands. "You're _sure _you don't have a sitar?"

The salesman sighed. "Kid, we sold our only sitar just today. If you had your eyes on it, you should have gotten it sooner. Actually, the person who bought it had a coat like yours…"

Roxas froze. Had Xion already bought the sitar? But that would have taken a truly massive amount of holo-mission grinding, and it had only been a couple hours since work ended. How could she have possibly done it?

After a moment's thought, Roxas shook his head and picked his munny bag up. "Who's your manufacturer?"

"The brand was Utada Music, like most of our instruments. Why do you ask?"

"No reason…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

What better way to get what you want than to cut out the middleman?

The Moogle CEO jumped as a shadowy portal opened in his office and a hooded figure, apparently a human, stepped out and walked up to the desk. The boy slammed a bag of munny down. "Don't ask questions. Give me a sitar." After a second, he added, "Please."

The Moogle blinked. "…That's a lot of trouble to go through for a sitar, Kupo."

"It's for…someone special."

"Still a lot of trouble, Kupo. You know you can just get them at the music store, right?"

"Not at my music store."

The Moogle felt one thing in that moment. It was a feeling that was mostly foreign to his kind. Pity.

"Kupo…we sent out our last shipment two weeks ago. We no longer manufacture sitars. And even if we did, I couldn't sell them to you like this."

The boy just stared for a bit, then turned around, opened another portal and went home, leaving the poor CEO wondering what had just transpired in his office.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Axel sat down next to Xion on the clocktower and handed her a bar of ice cream. "How was work?"

Xion took the bar and bit into it. "Two giant Heartless in Halloween Town. Ugh, long day."

"Figures Saix would overwork you today…"

"Huh?" Xion turned to him. "Why today, specifically?"

"Uh…" Axel cringed at his slip. "Just because he's grouchy."

"He's always grouchy."

"He was especially grouchy today."

Xion didn't quite seem to buy it, but she let it slide. "I wonder where Roxas is."

Axel resisted the urge to sigh in relief. "Probably still working. He had a…special mission today."

"A special mission?"

Well, it was a really roundabout and word-bending way to tell the truth, but at least Axel could justify it in his head. "Yeah."

"Oh." Xion smiled. "I hope he's okay."

"I know he is. Though I get the feeling he's getting a little exhausted by now…"

0=0=0=0=0=0

It was when Roxas had found _Building Sitars for Nobodies _in Zexion's room when he decided that the extent of the collection was truly ridiculous.

Not that the instructions were much help. Roxas couldn't make heads or tails of any of the thirteen 'easy' steps for the basic sitar. In addition, his materials were lacking—sea-salt ice cream sticks fished out of his trash can (it was really the only thing in there—Roxas didn't waste anything), scotch tape and rubber bands raided from Saix's office supply drawer and the 'help' of the sitar player himself, Demyx.

Roxas had hope this time around, though. The alleged sitar was actually holding itself together, and when Demyx strung a few notes, it mostly didn't sound like a dragon-type Heartless with one HP left. They were now in the process of painting it sea-salt blue, with the words _HAPPY BIRTHDAY _written in red on the side.

Demyx was painting pink flowers around the center. "She's going to love this thing!"

Roxas sighed. "I just wish I could get her a real one."

"Hey, don't sweat it, man." Demyx brofisted Roxas' arm. "All girls like a guy who will do crazy things for them, like build DIY sitars out of ice-cream sticks and rubber bands."

"What if it falls to pieces the moment she—"

Demyx shushed him. "No! No bad juju."

Roxas would have retorted had a certain academic strolled into the room. Vexen took one look at the sitar and scoffed. "What in the name of Kingdom Hearts are you doing?"

Roxas gave Vexen a cold, hard stare. "Shut up."

Of course, the stare had no effect on the idiot. Vexen walked over and ran his hand over the sitar. "Is this for your friend? Seems a little breakable for a gift."

Demyx backed away slowly. "Vexy, you don't want to do what you're about to do…"

Vexen scowled at Demyx. "Don't call me that." Then he turned back to Roxas. "I really think Xion will throw this thing in the trash."

Roxas narrowed his eyes. "No, she won't."

"Why do you even bother?"

"Because I love her."

Demyx went 'd'aaawwww' at this for a moment. Then he saw Vexen's rising evil grin and started inching toward the door.

Vexen didn't notice. "Don't make me laugh. You can't love anything, don't you remember?"

"Yes, I can."

"Stop being stupid, boy. Xion doesn't care about you a bit. She can't."

Roxas got right in Vexen's face. "Shut up before I do something I'll regret."

"Respect your elders! I am merely telling you the truth of the matter." He picked up the makeshift sitar. "In fact, when I bought that sitar from the store, I was helping you out."

"That was _you?!"_

"Oh, yes. I destroyed it, just like Xion will destroy this one. Let me spare the puppet some trouble right now…" Vexen snapped the fragile sitar in half.

Demyx dodgerolled out of the room just in time to avoid Roxas' retribution. He could swear he made a cartoonish _pwing _noise on the way out.

0=0=0=0=0=0

Saix looked up as Vexen's limp body was tossed inside his office. Of course, in the time it took for him to stand up, Roxas had already slammed the door. He looked down at Vexen. "I see you were foolish enough to anger him."

Vexen twitched a bit. "…I hate him."

"I noticed."

"I'll get them someday. Someday soon."

Saix just went back to his paperwork, letting this one thing slide.

0=0=0=0=0=0

The next morning, Axel hid behind the couch in the Grey Area. Roxas was next to him, wearing his hood like he usually did when he was gloomy. Axel pulled it down himself. "Come on, cheer up. It's Xion's day today."

Roxas closed his eyes. "I'm sorry. It's just…I tried so hard…"

"She'll love what you got her, I promise."

"If you say so."

Xion walked into the room, looking a little confused at all the dark. Axel pulled the string he had attached to the light switch, remembered that 'on' was _up_, not down, facepalmed, ran over to the light switch and flipped it on manually. "Surprise!"

Roxas, being the zombie, stayed behind the couch until Axel ran back and picked him up. "Ah! Uh, surprise!"

Xion laughed. "What are you two doing now?"

Axel patted her on the shoulder. "Throwing you a birthday party."

"Birthday party?"

"Basically, you've been our friend for six months now. That deserves a celebration."

Xion grinned from ear to ear. "For me?"

Roxas hugged her. "For you."

And so, the two proceeded to sing a strange rendition of 'Happy Birthday' and pulled out the sea-salt cake, on which Roxas had awkwardly drawn the trio inside a heart with icing. It had a single candle on it, which Axel lit with his fire powers. "Wish on it, then blow it out. Easy."

Xion closed her eyes. She whispered, "I wish we can be together forever," before blowing out the candle.

Both boys clapped, making Xion laugh even more. Roxas sat down next to her as Axel started slicing the cake with his chakrams. "I…have something for you."

Xion got closer. "Really?"

"Yeah…" Roxas pulled a tiny origami sitar out of his pocket and handed it to Xion. "I did."

Xion took it and smiled. "Aww, that's the sweetest thing. Thank you so much."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get you a real one…I tried really hard…"

"That's okay." Xion gave Roxas a big bear hug. "I like this better."

Roxas blinked. "What? Why?"

"Because you made it for me."

Roxas smiled and kissed her on the head. "Love you."

"Love you too."

Axel just bit into his cake slice. "This will never stop being adorable."

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**THE END**

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**I apologize for the large piles of fluff that have just appeared in your location, and for the sensation that is currently causing your heart to melt. Wait, no, no I don't. :)**

**When you think about it, it's a little sad that the canon version of Xion was never around long enough to have a birthday. Even my own stories are affected—I had to have it be a half-birthday because having her real birthday would open a whole can of worms with the continuity. I'm starting to realize how much of the plot of Days hinges on C.O. I'll have to hit it at some point. But Vexen is so fun… :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Reviewer Question Time: What are the most ridiculous lengths you have ever gone to obtain a gift for someone? Answer and I'll get you a giftfic, hopefully with a little less trouble than Roxas had. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and here's to nearly five months of sea-salt stories!**


	20. Date Island

**It is time once again for a sea-salt story! Now, I haven't posted in a while. I'll tell you why. I have fallen very deeply in love with a girl name Lindsay. She is the most amazing person I have ever met. She requested that I write this, because we both can't get enough RokuShi, and she loves my writing. So this is it, her very own giftfic for being my awesome, amazing, wonderful girlfriend. Continuity is any time after Invader. I hope you enjoy.**

**This is, of course, dedicated to Lindsay, my Xion. I love you, Lindsay. So, so much.**

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**Date Island**

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_DAY OFF TODAY_

_(DO NOT QUESTION THE SHEER NUMBER OF DAYS OFF, I MAY CHANGE MY MIND IF YOU DO)_

Roxas and Xion found this message plastered on the window. Immediately, they both started smiling. Well, they were both already smiling (they gave off a sort of aura of euphoria when they were together), but they evolved into stupid grins. The sight of stupidly grinning Keybearers had been known to move even Saix (if only in that suspicious 'what-are-they-planning-NOW' sort of way). And for Xigbar today, they held promise.

It wouldn't be fair to say that Xigbar _hated _the Keybearers. He liked them, a lot. Much in the way that a child might find himself playing with his favorite toy over and over, even if he doesn't mean to. He approved of their relationship, much in the way the child approves of his toy soldier's relationship with his sister's doll, so long as it involves rescuing her from massive danger with lots of guns and fast cars and explosions. That was how Xigbar saw them—toys to be played with. Very fun toys, toys that gave him more satisfaction than any of the others in the toybox, but toys nonetheless. And he had something in store for his toys today.

Xion looked at Roxas. "What do you wanna do today?"

Roxas shrugged. "Whatever you wanna do."

Xion giggled. "I don't know what I wanna do, that's why I'm asking you!"

"Ice cream?"

"Ice cream."

This was when the Sharpshooter made his grand entrance, strolling behind the two with a smirk on his face. "I've got a better idea."

They both looked up at him, still grinning like crazy. "What?" they both asked, their happiness making them naïve.

"How would you like to go to an island?"

Xion snapped her fingers. "That's a great idea! I love Destiny Islands!"

Xigbar kept smirking. "Oh, I know an even better island. It's in a world you haven't been to before."

Roxas tilted his head. "What world?"

"It doesn't have a name. It's completely uninhabited. It'll be just you and a lot of lovely wildlife. I found it a few days ago, and I knew you'd love it."

Normally, the Keybearers would never have trusted such an proposal. However, they were in the thrall of what is known in some parts as Love Madness. A common symptom of Love Madness is being willing to do _anything _to make the partner's day, including trusting utterly untrustworthy offers without a second thought. This is why bad dates happen to good couples.

It's also why Roxas and Xion both nodded immediately, against their better judgment.

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"I call it Date Island! Have fun!"

This was Xigbar's first, last and only words when they got to the island. It was a long stretch of beach with a massive desert and a small jungle in the middle. Before the Keybearers could say a single word about it, he had already left.

After several seconds, Roxas stated flatly, "Well, this sucks."

Xion sighed. "Can't argue with you there. Let's go back."

Roxas froze. His eyes were as wide as saucer pans as he stuck his hand out and made various gestures with it, to no effect.

"I…don't…remember how to do it…"

Xion sighed and tried it herself. Then her own eyes went wide. "I can't, either…"

"What the…"

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"Vexen, remind me to pay you for the memory eraser. I think this thing will be really fun."

"You should have made them forget each—"

"Oh, come on. I'm mean, not _evil."_

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After a few hours of ranting about Xigbar and kicking sand around, the Keybearers decided that they should probably work on finding shelter from the ominous storm cloud in the distance.

They walked across the desert separating the beach from the jungle. It could be called a desert, rather than a particularly large beach, because there was a point when the sand stopped being wet and soft and soothing and started being dry and hard and irritating. It was around that same point that the walk to the jungle stopped being a proud 'I'm-a-survivor' walk and started being a tedious 'oh-Kingdom-Hearts-I'm-a-freaking-survivor-oh-no' walk. You know, when you start to get hungry. Somehow, neither of the children had thought to pack sea-salt ice cream. Neither knew how that was even possible. Neither cared.

Xion panted. "I…hate…this…place…"

Roxas was also panting, feeling the hot sun bearing down on him. "I think we're…almost there…"

"How do…you know…" Xion slumped down on the ground. "So…tired…"

"No…" Roxas tried to pull Xion up. "I'm tired too…but…we can make it…I know it…"

"Roxas, don't…I don't wanna stand up…"

Roxas only pulled harder. "You have to, come on…"

"Too tired…" Xion's eyes drooped. "I'm gonna…I'm gonna…"

"No, no, no, get up, get up, get up!"

A burst of adrenaline filled Roxas, and he pulled his friend as hard as he could. Xion let out a grunt of pain as she was pulled to her feet. Roxas was supporting her, carrying all of her weight, as if she had completely given up on standing on her own. He dragged her along, not caring one bit about the increasing burden and the pain in his shoulders.

Xion shut her eyes and whimpered. "Put me down, I have a headache…"

"That's exactly why…I can't put you down…" He heard her mumble something. "What?"

"Water…" She was still quiet. "I just want water…"

"Once we get to the jungle…you can have all the water you want."

Xion seemed to perk up a bit. "Do you promise…?"

"I promise."

Xion started to support some of her own weight, lightening the burden on Roxas. "That'll be great…but how…"

Roxas managed a smile. "It's a jungle, right? Those need lots of water. I'll figure it out. Promise."

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Finding water in a jungle, as it turns out, is a little harder than it first appears.

Droplets of the stuff were falling off a branch, and Xion was standing under it, letting the drops hit her tongue and her face. It wasn't exactly like a big glass, but it was better than nothing. She couldn't pull herself away from the branch—it felt like she hadn't had anything to drink in years.

She sighed. Her voice was hoarse and quiet. "My face still feels all dirty and dry…"

Roxas cleared his throat—he was getting a little parched himself. "Try rubbing it on your face."

Xion tried this. "…Yeah, that's a little better…want some?"

Roxas waved his hand dismissively. "No, you need it more."

"If you need it, then you can have some."

"There isn't—" He suddenly went into a brief coughing fit. "…There isn't enough to share…"

Xion managed to step back from the branch and held Roxas on the shoulder. "Let's find more, then. Enough to share."

Roxas sighed and nodded. "Okay. But how do we do that?"

Xion thought for a second. "…Let's follow the animals. Maybe they'll lead us to a watering hole of some sort."

"Animals? What animals? I haven't seen any—"

A small monkey, not unlike the one Roxas always saw in Agrabah, jumped on his head, then Xion's, before grabbing the tree branch with the water droplets and swinging to the next tree. Xion ran after it. "Maybe that one! Come on, before it gets away!"

"Xi-xion…come back…"

Roxas shook his head and ran after Xion and the monkey. They were fast, much faster than he could have anticipated. His lack of knowledge in the ways of parkour only made things worse. He found himself falling farther and farther behind.

Eventually, he tripped over a log and fell to the ground. He grunted and got up. But he couldn't see Xion anywhere. Suddenly, absolute terror gripped him. He had to find her. If he didn't, she would get hurt, he was sure of that. Panic fueled him as he spun around and around, searching fruitlessly.

He screamed. _"XION!"_

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Following the monkey was harder than Xion had anticipated, but eventually, it led her to exactly what she had hoped for—a huge lake, sitting at the bottom of a waterfall. She gasped, taking in the beauty. She took a deep breath, letting the good smell of the area refresh her, then ran to the lake and splashed her face. After being dehydrated for hours, it felt wonderful, and she found herself laughing in delight. She dipped her head in and just let her hair soak for a few minutes—she didn't usually like getting her hair wet, but in this case, even it felt like it needed water, and the feeling of her hair idly floating in the water was calming.

She took in the fresh, _moist _air again. "Isn't this amazing, Roxas?"

No answer.

She blinked in confusion and sat up. "Roxas?"

Xion looked around. She couldn't see Roxas anywhere. She shut her eyes tight for a second, just barely managing to fight off a burst of panic, then stood up and facepalmed. "Oh, no, I left him behind by accident…why am I so _stupid…"_

She started to head back the way she came, but then something occurred to her—she couldn't remember which way she came from. Panic started to rise in her again, and it was getting harder to fight. Her usual tactic these days was to think about Roxas, but of course, that didn't work when Roxas was the one she was panicking about.

Instinct led her to run to the nearest tree and grip it tight, something Axel had told her to do if she ever got lost. _He has to be looking for me, _she thought to herself. _This island can only be so big, right? He'll find me…he'll find me…HE'LL FIND ME…right?_

Her increasingly anxious thoughts were interrupted by a low growl. She turned around and found herself staring straight at a tiger. An animal that was faster, more agile, stronger and in many ways _more intelligent_ than her.

"I hate Xigbar," she whispered to herself. It was all she could manage.

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Roxas could feel tears on his face now. He didn't cry much—he didn't have much of a reason, after all. But right now, with Xion missing and possibly in terrible danger or worse, he couldn't fight them back anymore. At least when they were streaking down his face, they weren't affecting his vision as much. He could also feel them making him more dehydrated, but all he could think about in that moment was Xion.

He was running through the jungle, slicing leaves and branches with his Keyblade, occasionally calling out Xion's name. Each cry was even more anguished than the last. Every time he felt himself slowing down, he forced himself to run even faster. It felt like his lungs were on fire, but he couldn't stop. He _had _to find Xion. If he didn't…he didn't want to think about that. He just knew there wasn't an alternative to finding her. He'd find her, or die trying, and that was that.

But it was getting harder to run, harder to breathe. The edges of his vision were going dark, like he was about to pass out. He fought as hard as he could, but his exhaustion engulfed him, and he fell to his knees. Immediately, he tried to get up again—he was wasting time this way, Xion could have been hurt or bleeding or trapped or calling for him or…

It was too much. It was all _too much. _His head fell to the soft, wet grass. He was going to lose her, he knew it, but it was impossible to go on. Every bone in his body ached. His face was so dry, and he was so thirsty and hungry and tired. Even so, he longed to see Xion, to see her face, to feel her hair…

"I love you," he said, his voice cracked and harsh. "I love you…please…I love you, I love you, I love you…I'll always love you…I love you…Xion…"

"There, good kitty…"

Roxas shot up, a new burst of energy flowing through him. That was Xion, there was no mistaking that voice. He got up and ran in the direction of the voice, even though he was still tired and bruised. The only thing that fueled him now was that he wanted to be with her again. Luckily, it was enough to propel him towards her voice.

He ran out into the clearing with the lake. "Xion! Xion! Xion!"

Xion was sitting on the ground in front of the lake, _petting a tiger. _She looked over at Roxas and beamed. "Roxas!"

Roxas ignored the tiger for the moment and ran to Xion. He made the poor choice of trying to scoop her up, which only resulted in him falling on his bottom. Xion stifled a laugh, and despite everything, Roxas couldn't help but smile.

At least, he was smiling until he heard the tiger growl at him. He almost summoned his Keyblade, but Xion held his hand and used her free one to hold her palm out toward the dangerous beast. "No! Bad kitty! Roxas is my friend."

Roxas gripped Xion's hand tight and shut his eyes, preparing to be eaten. But when he felt no pain, he slowly opened one eye. To his shock, the tiger had not only backed off, but was now in a sitting position, whimpering like a dog that had just relieved itself on the carpet.

Xion petted his nose. "It's okay, kitty. Just don't growl at my friends, okay?"

The tiger made a small grunt and nodded, as if to say 'I'm sorry.' Roxas jaw was practically on the ground. "How…how…why…"

Xion smiled at him. "Oh, this is Kitty. He's my new friend."

Roxas decided that now was probably a good time to let himself fall unconscious.

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The cave was warm enough, but it still brought back bad memories of Arendelle. At least this time, Xion had a large, living combination pillow and blanket as a companion.

She cradled Roxas' head on her lap, holding it like a baby. She found it very comforting—she knew exactly where he was, and she could use Roxas' hair as a sort of fuzzy worry stone. The slow, consistent sound of his breath also helped her frayed nerves. She looked out of the cave for a second, beyond the waterfall separating it from the jungle—the sunset was beautiful, thought the view wasn't as good as in Twilight Town. She smiled, letting herself relax and take it in. Roxas had restored her hope.

The blond stirred, and she looked back down. "Hey, sleepyhead."

Roxas squinted and reached for her face. "What happened to me…"

Xion took his hand. "You just passed out, that's all. Do you want some water?"

Roxas made a small nod, and Xion took the bowl-like leaf she had retrieved from the tree she had previously been hugging and stuck it under the waterfall. It filled up with fresh water, and she poured it into Roxas' mouth.

She repeated this a few times before putting the leaf back down. "There. Does that feel better?"

Roxas' eyes were half-open now, an improvement over the squinting. "One more, please."

Xion poured another 'cup' of water into his mouth. "Now?"

"…Yeah. Thanks."

Xion smiled. "No problem. I'll always care for you."

"I thought I was supposed to care for you…"

Xion giggled. "Oh, I see how it is. The big man has to save the helpless girl, huh?"

"No!" Roxas made his own laugh, even playfully tapping Xion on the arm. "It's just…when I couldn't find you…I felt like I had to find you fast, or something terrible would happen to you…"

"I get that. That means you love me, right?"

"…I guess."

Xion's smile grew even bigger. "Well, sometimes I'm the one who needs to come help you."

Roxas made a smile of his own. "I like that. It makes me feel safe."

"Good." A strange idea flew into Xion's head. "Can you sit up?"

Roxas did so. "Looks like it."

"Come close to me. I want to try something."

Roxas scooted up close. "What's that?"

"This."

Xion held Roxas' head and brought him in. After a second, she planted her lips right on top of his. Roxas made a small sound of surprise, then another sound of happiness. They were like this for a very long moment.

After what felt like eternity, Xion drew back. Roxas giggled. "That felt great."

"Good. It just popped into my head. I wonder if anyone else does it…"

Roxas grinned. "Whatever it is, I wanna do it again."

"Okay." Xion's lips pressed against Roxas' again, for another long moment. This time, she pressed her whole body into him a little too hard, and they both fell to the ground, laughing.

When Roxas got down laughing, he gently pushed Xion off him. "I'm tired."

Xion closed her eyes. "So am I."

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Seemingly aware that they were drifting away from the waking world, Kitty the Tiger laid on top of both Keybearers, acting as a blanket for both of them. Xion managed to scoot right into cuddling position with Roxas, fighting the weight. When she saw his cute sleeping face, she was out like a light.

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This was how Axel and Xigbar found the two Organization Cinnamon Rolls curled up next to each other underneath a tiger.

Xigbar grinned. "Really, you should be paying me."

Axel rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut your trap before I report you to Saix and you get Infernal Engines for the rest of your nonexistence…"

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**THE END**

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**Yup, being in love makes you all mushy. Who would have guessed, huh? :)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for the next sea-salt story!**

**For Lindsay: Now, when I think of Xion, I think of you. I love you.  
**


	21. Daydreams

**Hello once again! It is time for another sea-salt story. This one started out as something to post for AkuShi day, but it ended up being quite a bit more somber than I anticipated. Sad, even. Figures. Xion always makes me sad. :P Anyway, continuity for all stories will be considered to be any time after the last completed story unless otherwise specified. This will make things a bit easier in the future. I hope you enjoy!**

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**Daydreams**

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"Hey, Xi, you okay?"

A simple question that never seemed to get any response whatsoever.

Axel and Xion were sitting next to each other in the Grey Area. Roxas had recon with Demyx, so of course he wasn't back yet. During times like these, the two usually bonded over some small talk to give him some leeway before heading to the clocktower on their own if he took too long. But today, Xion was being very quiet and withdrawn. With most of the Organization, this was no cause for alarm, but she was always opening up to Axel and Roxas on most days. It worried Axel quite a bit.

He snapped his fingers near her ear. "You here?"

After a moment, Xion jolted. "Huh-huh…what?"

"You're going zombie again."

She went back to looking at the ground. "Oh. I'm just…thinking."

"About what?"

"Um…nothing in particular. Daydreaming, I guess?"

Axel scooted closer. "You look a little sad for daydreaming."

Xion leaned on his shoulder. "Yeah. Sometimes I have sad daydreams. Like…imagining what dying would be like. Or going blind. Or being paralyzed." She looked up at him. "Why do I think things like that?"

Axel stroked her hair. "Don't worry, it's normal. We all think about things like that. We're curious, even about bad things."

She closed her eyes. "I do it a lot, though…"

Axel considered this. "Maybe you need to get your thoughts out into the world. You could write them down. Or you could talk to me."

"Yeah…"

"What were you daydreaming about just now?"

Xion snuggled into him all the way. "Anger. I imagined what it would be like if I had a spell cast on me or something so that I was angry at everyone, every day, constantly."

"And what was it like?"

She sighed. "Terrible. I didn't want to be angry, but I had no choice. I pushed everyone away, even though I didn't want to. I screamed at Roxas so much that I wasn't breathing right afterwards. I forgot what it was like to actually enjoy someone's company. But of all the people I was mad at…I was the most angry at myself. For _being _so angry. I felt so alone…"

Axel hugged her. "Hey, you'll never be alone, okay?"

"I know. It's still a really scary idea."

"That would scare me, too." He tapped her head. "You have a really good imagination. I've daydreamed before, even about strange, sad things, but nothing that vivid. You should write these things down, really."

Xion smiled a bit. "Like I wrote down The Exciting Penguins?"

Axel smiled back. "Hey, Roxas and I both liked that. Really. And practice makes perfect. Well, better, anyway."

"I know, I'm just messing with you." Xion closed her eyes. "It's just…my head likes to go to really dark places like this. I disturb myself sometimes. I'd write it down, but it feels like bad luck, you know? I wouldn't want any of these things to actually happen…"

Axel patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about that. It's better to release bad thoughts onto paper than to hold them in your head."

"Are you talking from personal experience?"

Axel snorted. "Let's just say I was a kid like you once. All kids think these things." He opened a drawer under the coffee table in front of them and pulled out a notebook and a pencil. "Go on, try it."

Xion took the writing materials. "Right now?"

"Yup. Write about the daydream you had. You'll feel better, promise."

"If you say so…"

For a few minutes, Xion scribbled on the paper, writing words, then erasing them and rewriting them. Axel sat back and watched. It's not every day you get to see a writer in action, but when you do, it is a beautiful sight, best viewed silently from afar, like a ballet.

When Xion finished, she handed the notebook, to Axel. "You can read it, if you want."

Axel looked at her. "Do you want me to? It is your personal thoughts."

She thought about this. "…Yes. I do."

And so, Axel turned his attention toward the notebook.

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_Fight_

_I had a fight today. It was really loud and scary. I yelled and yelled until my voice gave out. After that, I whispered as loud as I could, even though it was really painful. When that hurt too much, I wrote in red ink, making holes in the paper with my pen. I was crying so much that I made myself physically sick. I threw things. Made a mess of the room._

_But the other person…she didn't care. At all. She shot down everything I said. She said things I couldn't think of a good response to. She said I was being ridiculous, overdramatic, stupid. I hate her so much. She is the worst person I know._

_I don't remember what started the fight. I don't remember anything but the fight, actually. I forgot my identity. She took it away. She stole it from me. I hate her. I don't remember what happiness feels like. I don't remember what ice cream tastes like, what it's like to have a nice conversation, what love feels like. All that matters now is that stupid fight. And I'm still having it, in my head, thinking of things I could have, should have said._

_I hate her so much. I never want to see her again, but I can't get rid of her. She's everywhere I go. It's like she's following me. I see her in mirrors, in shadows, in my bed every night. I hate her so much. I just want her to leave me alone already!_

_It hurts just to think about her…_

_Her name? Oh. Her name is Xion. We were arguing about whether I'm crazy. I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!_

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Axel looked up. "Xion. Are you okay? Tell the truth. This is important."

She nodded. "I am. Really. Writing it down really did help."

"Do you feel this way a lot?"

"Not when I'm with you and Roxas. That's why I like you."

Axel thought for a moment, then pulled Xion into a bear hug. "I love you."

Xion smiled. "I love you, too. Thanks for…being there for me."

"Always. Always."

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**THE END**

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**So here's the thing. I struggled with real depression for the first time over the last week. Granted, I could have had it much worse, but it was way worse than I had ever felt before, and it was consistent. I finally managed to get myself out of it a couple days ago. I certainly don't want to go back into that hole. Xion's musings (not sure what else to call her writing in this story) sum up how it felt pretty well. This chapter, in general, is based very much on my experiences with depression last week.**

**I'd like to take a moment to give advice to anyone feeling this way right now. Find someone to talk to, and stick to them. If you don't want to dump your problems on them, that's okay—make small talk, play a game, whatever. All you need is someone you trust to make you not feel as bad. For me, that person was my wonderful girlfriend. It would have been much worse without Lindsay (thank you, my Xion). For you, it might be a friend, a family member, a leader in your religion, whatever. Heck, I'm willing to act as someone to lean on—just drop a PM. It gets better, okay? You'll get through this. I know those sentences feel empty right now, but I promise you'll get through. You deserve to get through, even if you don't think you do. You are a wonderful person. Your feelings are valid. You can and will live a happy life soon. And whoever you are, I love you.**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for more sea-salt stories!**


	22. Spooky Scary Skeletons

**Sit down with your candy bowl, because it's time for another sea-salt story! In addition to being a Halloween special, this story sets up things to come in the Reluctant Father universe. I'll explain more once you reach the end. Enjoy!**

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**Spooky Scary Skeletons**

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_Am I awake? Did I ever fall asleep? I guess it doesn't matter…_

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

_No, stop it, no…_

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

_No…_

Xion sat up in bed, still half-asleep. It was still dark (in the eternally dark World That Never Was, of course, that just meant Saix hadn't turned the lighting system back on yet). She found herself strangely disoriented, even though she knew this room better than she knew pretty much anything else. Maybe she had had a bad or just strange dream she couldn't remember, and it was confusing her. She didn't care too much, in any case.

She couldn't hear the mysterious banging sound anymore, so she slowly came back down, whispering 'sleep' to herself as she did so. Maybe the banging had been the last memory of the dream she couldn't remember, or—

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Xion shot up, this time much more alert. That definitely _wasn't _a fading dream. She still felt like she was going to fall asleep again at any second, and her mind was too foggy to really comprehend any incoming information like a mysterious banging sound, but adrenaline kept her eyes wide open.

She managed to muster the strength (and presence of mind) to get out of bed and walk to the door, which seemed to be the source of the disturbance. When she opened the door, no one was there. She was about to close it again when she noticed that there was an odd cassette tape lying on the ground in front of her. She picked it up (a herculean feat with the adrenaline already starting to wear off) and tried to read the front. Of course, it was too dark and her head was too muddled to handle reading.

She probably should have went back to bed at this point, but her curiosity about the mystery item became sort of its own adrenaline. She decided that the smart thing to do was to get someone else to read it. So, she shuffled her way to the door marked _XIII _and knocked.

No answer. Obviously—as usual, Roxas could sleep through the entire castle collapsing. Xion opened the door, went over to Roxas and slapped him on the shoulder, a little harder than she meant to. Roxas made a sputtering sound, like someone had just drenched him with a bucket of water. "Wh-wh-what-huh-what…oh." He smiled at the sight of his friend. "Hey. Bad dreams?"

Xion shook her head. "Someone knocked at my door, and it woke me up. Then they left one of those tapes Axel watches sometimes and left. They were gone before I opened the door." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm still really, really sleepy…can you read the label for me, please?"

Roxas, always eager to please, held the cassette tape to the light of Kingdom Hearts. "It says 'Spooky Scary Skeletons'…some Halloween thing, probably."

"Oh. Weird…" Xion took the tape back. Talking with Roxas was waking her up, and she thought of something. "I'm gonna watch it."

Roxas' danger sense was well-trained by now, and he knew from both experience with the Organization and the cover of that one movie Axel had swiped away before he could watch it that mysteriously appearing objects, _especially _any form of media, were absolutely, positively not to be trusted under any circumstances, and generally the best course of action following a mystery banging noise and the appearance of a mystery cassette tape labeled with words like 'spooky' and 'scary' was to run.

In the face of his very cute, very tired girlfriend, all he could manage was, "Okay, I'll watch it with you."

The only VCR in the castle—perhaps among the last in existence—was in Axel's room. Axel had taught the Keybearers how to work it, because he thought it might come in handy at some point. Xion decided to thank him for his judgment in the morning.

The two snuck into his room very quietly, trying as best they could not to wake him up. Not that there was any real danger of that—while not quite as brick-like as Roxas, Axel slept deeply enough that a couple kids in his room wouldn't wake him up. When Roxas got to the TV, he turned to Xion. "How are we going to use it without him noticing?"

Xion thought for a second. "Headphones?"

"How will we both hear it?"

Xion thought some more. "…Earbuds. One in your ear, one in mine."

So, Roxas fished some earbuds out of Axel's nightstand, plugged them into the television, put the tape into the VCR and turned on the video, with his head smooshed up against Xion's.

Blood-red text appeared on the screen, and an evil-sounding raspy voice read it. _"What scares you?"_

Roxas snorted. "Oh, it is a Halloween thing. What a jo—"

The screen flickered, showing a man wearing what appeared to be an Organization cloak, except instead of the hood, he wore a gas mask on his face with a skull painted on it. Both of the children fell silent.

"_Are you afraid of losing your mind?"_

The man in the mask laughed, a cackling laugh that made Xion start shivering.

"_Are you afraid of losing your friends?"_

Now _that _was scary. Xion grabbed Roxas' hand so hard that it went numb almost immediately.

"_Are you afraid of losing…your life?"_

The screen flickered again, showing the masked man's skeleton.

"_This is the skeleton man. He is coming for you. Are you scared?"_

Both children were shaking uncontrollably now, clinging to each other tightly.

"_GOOD."_

The screen faded to black, with the blood-red words _THE SKELETON MAN IS COMING _lingering for a few seconds. Then the tape ended, and Roxas popped it out of the player. He turned to Xion, and they were both silent for a long time.

Finally, Roxas threw the tape on the ground, smashed it to pieces with his foot and pulled Xion into a hug. "It's not real," he whispered, even thought he was just as scared as she was.

Xion nodded. "I know. It…it was stupid anyway. Really…really cheesy." She gripped Roxas tighter. "If it was real—just, just hypothetically speaking—um, if it was real, you'd protect me, right?"

Roxas nodded. "Of course I would. I'd do anything for you. You know that. I love you."

"I love you, too…"

There was a loud _clang, _and Xion let out a small scream involuntarily. One way to wake up Axel quickly was through tiny Xion screams. He bolted up, already calling his chakrams to his hands. When he saw the two Nobodies under his wing clinging to each other, he walked over. "Hey. You guys okay?"

Xion looked at Roxas for a second, then looked up again. "We saw something really, really scary."

"And what would that be?"

She looked down at the smashed tape and pointed. "That."

Axel picked up the bits and pieces and read the label. "…Where the heck did you guys find this?"

"There was a weird banging at my door, and when I checked, it was there."

Axel sighed and threw the tape in the trash. Then he leaned down and hugged them both. "It's okay. I'll protect you from whatever you saw. Promise."

Both Keybearers nuzzled into Axel's chest. "I'll protect you too," he said, leaning into Xion's head.

"Thank you, both of you," Xion mumbled.

Axel nodded. "Always, Xion. Always."

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Roxas turned to the door with a jolt. "Is that the banging you heard, Xion?"

Xion nodded, not daring to come out from Axel's chest. "Yes!"

Roxas summoned his Keyblade and ran toward the door, throwing it open so hard that it left a small dent in the metal wall. He slashed without thinking, but he ended up slicing at thin air. Xion gathered up some courage, then ran over to Roxas. "Is he gone?"

Roxas shook his head, bending down and picking up a piece of paper. "No. All he left us is a drawing of a skeleton." He gritted his teeth. "Every bone in his entire skeleton is going to be broken when I'm done with him!"

Axel stood behind Roxas, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Whoa, now. Calm down. This is probably—"

"I don't care what it is. I'm keeping her safe!"

"Roxas—"

Roxas turned left and raised his Keyblade. _"You."_

Before Axel or Xion knew what was going on, Roxas charged, screaming like a wild hyena. After a lot of screaming, slamming, smashing, screaming, cries of anguish, cries of pleasure and much, much more screaming, a familiar deep voice finally called from the other end of the hall. "Number XIII."

Roxas whipped around, gnashing his teeth. Then he went pale when he realized it was Saix. The blue-haired man was in full uniform, and his deadpan expression looked somehow even more resigned than usual.

"Can you please explain why you are brutally mutilating Number IV."

Roxas narrowed his eyes at Vexen, who was stuck in a pin underneath him as he was about ready to punch his face again. "Because he scared Xion!"

Saix sighed. "Let me clarify. Can you please explain why you are brutally mutilating Number IV _this time._"

Vexen spit out a tooth and hid his face from Roxas' face. "I didn't do it! I've been framed!"

Roxas blinked. "…What?"

Saix walked over, pushed Roxas aside and pulled Vexen up, proceeding to wipe his hand like he had just touched something gross. "So for once, you are _not _the root of the problem that is causing Roxas to fly into a wild rage that usually ends up costing more munny than it took to buy the things he broke in the first place?"

Vexen shook his head weakly. "No…I was just getting up for some water, I swear. If you don't believe me, you can check my lab notes! Nothing about this 'Spooky Scary Skeletons' thing at all!"

Roxas scratched his head. "So if it isn't you…then…who is it?"

A deep, luscious voice rang from the shadows. "The Skeleton Man, obviously."

Without even looking, Roxas threw a punch in the direction of the noise. A hand caught it, forcing him to turn. It was Marluxia, chuckling. "That was a very good test. It worked exactly as well as I had hoped."

Roxas pulled his hand away, gritting his teeth again. "What do you mean 'test'?!"

Marluxia snorted. "Testing you and Xion. Orders straight from Lord Xemnas, I might add."

Roxas tried to lash out at Marluxia, but found Axel and Xion holding him back. Xion pushed on his chest with an open palm. "It's not worth it, Roxas!"

Axel held Roxas' arms as he stared at Marluxia. "Right out of Xemnas' lips? How come I don't quite believe that?"

"Because you think that anything done to your precious babies is automatically bad." Marluxia walked next to Axel, not bothering to look him in the eye. "Do you claim to love them? Because that's an interesting trick. You should show it off sometime."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'll leave that as an exercise for you." Marluxia walked off. "Nice work with Vexen, by the way, Keybearer."

The Nobodies let Marluxia walk off into the shadows. After Axel and Xion let go of Roxas, he punched the wall three times, then regretted it. Saix shook his head and snapped his fingers. "I don't have time for this. Back to your rooms. I will check with the Superior tomorrow. If Number XI lied, he will be properly punished for it."

With that, Saix went back into his room. Vexen gladly took the opportunity to limp off. Roxas slammed his foot on the ground until it got tired, then held Xion tight. "If he does it again…I'll beat him up for you."

Xion smiled. "I know you will. But don't hurt yourself, okay? You look a little sick."

Roxas nodded. "I am. Sorry."

"It's okay." Xion kissed Roxas on the cheek. "I love you."

"Love you too."

Axel joined the hug. "Hey. Don't forget about the guy who made you a couple and not zombies."

Both of the Keybearers laughed. "We love you, too," they said in unison.

0=0=0=0=0=0

"_I did give that order. Didn't I?"_

"…_For what purpose?"_

"_Seeing if they still have a use."_

"_Marluxia?"_

"…_The pawns."_

0=0=0=0=0=0

**THE END**

0=0=0=0=0=0

**So, after watching the Days movie on the 1.5 HD ReMix, I decided to write the RF universe for NaNoWriMo. I realized that if the plot is going to move along the way I want it to, big things have to happen quickly, namely Castle Oblivion. Enter **_**The Longest Night**_**, the next chapter in the Reluctant Father universe. I will be posting the story as I write it during NaNo. There will be big reveals and lots of drama. I thought long and hard about what I would be writing for NaNo, but watching that movie confirmed what I already knew, a basic law of nature: **_**Never enough AkuRokuShi. Never enough AkuRokuShi. NEVER ENOUGH AKUROKUSHI. **_**:)**

**I hope you enjoyed this short story. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in next time for more sea-salt stories!**


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